On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced his desire to regain control of Afghanistan‘s Bagram Air Base, which was abandoned about a month before the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We’re trying to get it back, because they need things from us,” Trump said in reference to the Taliban.
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Trump explained that one rationale for wanting Bagram returned to U.S. control is its proximity to various Chinese nuclear weapons facilities. The White House Press Office did not respond to a request for details about any Bagram-related negotiations.
Trump’s comments followed a meeting last week between special presidential envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler, former senior diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad, and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul. The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted about the meeting, proclaiming that the assembly discussed “ways to develop bilateral relations between the two countries, issues concerning citizens, and investment opportunities … in Afghanistan.” They also spoke about “followers who are imprisoned in one or another country.”
Boehler’s trip to Kabul followed a Sept. 5 executive order from Trump, which stated he would designate any country that wrongfully detains U.S. citizens as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention.” The executive order allows the State Department to impose sanctions, apply inadmissibility, restrict financial assistance, and place travel restrictions for U.S. citizens seeking to visit any designated country.
Sources indicate that there are four Americans currently in Taliban custody, the most well-known of whom is Mahmood Habibi. Habibi was arrested on Aug. 10, 2022, by the Taliban’s feared General Directorate of Intelligence on suspicion that he and 30 of his Asia Consultancy Group coworkers were involved in the U.S. drone strike on former al Qaeda senior leader Ayman al Zawahiri in July 2022. The Taliban refuse to admit they hold Habibi in custody.
The United States still holds al Qaeda senior aide Mohammad Rahim in Guantanamo Bay. The Taliban have requested his return, as well as two other Afghan nationals, during previous hostage exchange negotiations. Late in the day on Sept. 13, outlets around the world reported that the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Boehler agreed to a prisoner exchange. No further details were released, and the White House has not confirmed any agreement.
On Sept. 17, Suhail Shaheen, head of the Afghan Embassy in Qatar, did not respond to questions about whether a deal was reached. The State Department did not respond to questions about whether Boehler met with Muttaqi to discuss Trump’s executive order or whether the U.S. is prepared to designate Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention should American detainees not be released.
U.S. policy toward Afghanistan requires examination.
Regardless, absent the return of all American prisoners, the State Department should designate Afghanistan a sponsor of wrongful detention. It should also utilize all tools available to protect U.S. citizens. Making stronger travel restrictions would be an intelligent maneuver, given that George Glezmann, who was released from Taliban custody in March, was a tourist in Afghanistan when he was arrested in December 2022. It would also be a darkly hypocritical move. In May, the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end temporary protected status for Afghans was partially based on a supposed increase in tourism in Afghanistan. The U.S. also ought to examine news of reprisals emanating from Afghanistan and reassess its rationale for ending temporary protected status.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s insights on discussions between Muttaqi, Boehler, and Khalilzad will raise alarm bells for wary analysts. The Taliban entity said the group talked about “restor[ing] relations” that were determined during “previous negotiations in Doha.”
This is likely a reference to the failed 2020 Doha Agreement, negotiated by Khalilzad. The agreement requires the Taliban to prevent international terrorists from using Afghanistan as a safe haven. While the Taliban have made promises to multiple countries that they will not allow Afghanistan to become a launching pad for terrorist operations, the United Nations Monitoring Team found in July that the group “continued to maintain a permissive environment for a range of terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida and its affiliates.” Any assurances regarding terrorist groups inside Afghanistan ought not to be believed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s final assertion was the most concerning. According to Taliban officials, “the head of the American delegation added that his country respects the freedom of choice of nations and does not want anything to be imposed on Afghans.”
This mirrors language the Taliban have previously used when arguing that their treatment of women is an internal matter and not subject to worldwide debate. If the U.S. were to kowtow to the Taliban’s system of gender apartheid, it would be a despicable moral failure. The State Department did not respond to questions about its stance on the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women.
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It’s unclear whether another small news development could be linked to current discussions between U.S. and Taliban leadership. On Sept. 12, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services noted on X that an “Afghan alien” in U.S. immigration proceedings was found to have an active arrest warrant for murder overseas. The Afghan was placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s questions about whether the individual was wanted by the Taliban. The State Department did not respond to questions about whether the incident was related to meetings between Kabul and Washington, D.C.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance contributor to Fox News and the host of The Afghanistan Project podcast.