Trump Can Call Afghanistan a “Hellhole,” But He Still Wants Bagram. Why?

File photo of Bagram military base in Afghanistan. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

This piece originally appeared in EURASIAREVIEW on December 11, 2025

President Donald Trump has once again referred to Afghanistan as “a hell.” Two weeks ago, he called it “a hellhole.” The words made headlines, but they also exposed a contradiction few in Washington seem willing to confront. If Afghanistan is nothing more than a wasteland, an unredeemable pit of chaos, then why has Trump repeatedly spoken of taking Bagram Air Base back? Why threaten military action, why sketch plans, why express such determination to regain a foothold in the very country he claims is worthless?

The answer is simple: Trump’s insults contradict America’s enduring strategic interests. Afghanistan is not a “hellhole” — it is one of the most pivotal geopolitical territories on earth. It always has been. And even those who demean it publicly know this privately. You cannot ridicule a place as worthless while, at the same time, longing to regain the greatest strategic asset it contains.

This contradiction reveals a truth that American political rhetoric masks, but geopolitical logic constantly exposes: Afghanistan matters — perhaps more than any country of its size and population in the world. And the United States, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, cannot escape that fact.

Afghanistan Was Never “Hell.” It Was the Battlefield on Which America Became a Superpower.

Long before the world watched the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul in 2021, long before American politicians discovered Afghanistan as a talking point, the Afghan people were engaged in a struggle that altered the course of global history. When the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, Afghanistan became the frontline of the Cold War. But unlike in other proxy theaters, the Afghan people did not merely resist; they absorbed and ultimately broke one of the most powerful military machines ever assembled.

The Soviet military defeat in Afghanistan was not symbolic. It was existential. It drained Soviet finances, crippled Soviet morale, undermined Soviet alliances, and accelerated the internal fractures that would ultimately bring down the USSR. When the Soviet Empire collapsed, it was not only Eastern Europe that became free — the United States inherited a world with no rival superpower.

That moment — the dawn of the unipolar era — was born on Afghan soil. The Afghans did not fight for global dominance or ideological purity; they fought for survival. But the consequences of their struggle remade the global order. America rose to unprecedented heights not simply because of its economy or military technology, but because Afghans fought a war Washington never had to fight itself.

When Trump dismisses Afghanistan as “hell,” he erases the very battlefield where American primacy was secured. Afghanistan is not a hellhole. Afghanistan is where the Cold War ended.

Then Afghans Fought America’s War Again—For 20 More Years.

The partnership did not end with the collapse of the USSR. After the attacks of September 11, the United States returned to Afghanistan with a mission: dismantle al-Qaeda, defeat the Taliban, and prevent future attacks on American soil. The Afghan people did not hesitate. They joined the fight immediately, and for two decades, Afghan security forces fought — and died — beside American troops.

Tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers paid the ultimate price. Afghan commandos fought all of the most dangerous battles of the war. Afghan interpreters saved American lives by exposing ambushes, identifying IEDs, and negotiating with local communities that would not speak to U.S. forces alone. Afghan intelligence officers provided actionable information that prevented attacks and protected American bases.

The Afghan people became America’s allies not by treaty or obligation, but by sacrifice. They defended American interests in their own country at enormous human cost. They did not call the United States a hellhole; they saw partnership as a path toward shared security and stability.

If Afghanistan is a “hellhole,” then why did Afghans fight and die for America for twenty years? Why did families send their sons to serve in the army, police, and intelligence agencies? Why did interpreters risk their lives beside American troops?

The answer is obvious: Afghanistan is not hell, and Afghans were never America’s enemies. They were its comrades in one of the most complex and brutal conflicts of the century.

So Why Does Trump Want Bagram Back If Afghanistan Is “Hell”?

If Trump truly believed Afghanistan was worthless, he would never speak so passionately about reclaiming Bagram. The truth is that Bagram Air Base remains one of the most strategically valuable locations in the world. From Bagram, the United States can reach China’s western provinces, monitor developments in Iran, oversee Central Asian airspace, observe Pakistan’s military movements, and counter emerging threats like ISIS-K. No other airbase in Asia provides such comprehensive geopolitical reach.

Military strategists have long understood that Afghanistan is the “geographical hinge” of Eurasia — the place from which empires have projected influence for centuries. Trump’s desire to reclaim Bagram acknowledges this reality, even if his public insults attempt to obscure it.

The contradiction is glaring; you cannot simultaneously degrade a nation and yearn to control its most valuable asset. If Afghanistan were truly a wasteland, Bagram would hold no appeal. Its desirability proves Afghanistan’s geopolitical significance.

Afghans Were Not “Unvetted.” They Were the Most Vetted Population in Modern U.S. History.

One of the most careless claims repeated by politicians is that Afghan evacuees were “not vetted.” I lived through the evacuation, and I can state with certainty: that claim is false.

We did not leave Kabul and land directly in the United States. We were routed through the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, then sent to Europe — Germany’s Ramstein Air Base or Spain — before ever setting foot on American soil. At each stop, we faced interviews, biometric checks, background screenings, and long delays. My own family spent months in Germany and then several more months at Fort Pickett in Virginia.

Even after reaching Wisconsin, the questions continued. American officials referenced Afghan military, political, and tribal figures from decades ago — individuals many Afghans no longer remembered or recognized. They examined communications, cross-checked contacts, and probed historical relationships going back to the 1990s and early 2000s.

This was not casual vetting. It was one of the most thorough screening processes the United States has ever conducted. Anyone claiming otherwise is either uninformed or deliberately misleading the public.

The Real Source of Extremism in the Region Was Never Afghan Refugees.

If Americans want to understand where regional militancy came from, they must look not at Afghan refugees, but at the institutions in Pakistan that shaped, trained, armed, and sheltered many of these groups for decades. The Taliban, Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and even early strands of ISIS-K all benefited from Pakistan’s military-intelligence infrastructure.

Afghans suffered because of these groups. Americans suffered because of them. The difference is that Afghans lived beside them — and died fighting them — long before the world paid attention.

To blame Afghan refugees for extremist violence is not merely inaccurate; it is dangerous. It distorts U.S. foreign policy, undermines counterterrorism strategy, and emboldens the networks that actually threaten regional stability.

America Is Now Politically Exploiting the Same People Who Helped Build Its Power.

Today, the Afghan community in the United States is facing political scrutiny and unfair accusations. This is not just ungrateful — it is strategically foolish. Afghan refugees are not ordinary immigrants. They were wartime partners, Cold War allies, interpreters, soldiers, and intelligence partners. They fought for America before they ever stepped foot in America.

Many American politicians proudly proclaim gratitude for their ancestors who immigrated generations ago. But the truth is that those immigrants — Irish, Italians, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, and others — did not fight America’s wars before arriving on its shores. The Afghans did. Twice.

To reduce them to campaign props is an injustice to history and to the sacrifices that underpin American security.

America Must Choose Between Political Insults and Strategic Reality.

The United States stands at a crossroads. It can continue down the path of scapegoating Afghan refugees, erasing Afghan contributions, and pretending Afghanistan is irrelevant. Or it can confront the truth that Afghanistan remains geopolitically indispensable, that Afghans have been loyal allies, and that abandoning the partnership damages American credibility.

Trump can insult Afghanistan all he wants. But the moment he speaks of taking Bagram back, the truth resurfaces: he knows Afghanistan matters.

America can insult Afghanistan.

Or America can return to Afghanistan.

But it cannot do both.