By Editor,James Cirrone

Copyright dailymail

President Donald Trump issued an ominous threat to the Taliban saying ‘bad things’ would happen if they did not return Bagram Air Base to the US.

The commander-in-chief made the statement on Saturday evening after spending the last few days talking of reclaiming the Afghanistan base.

‘If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!! President DJT,’ he wrote on Truth Social.

The base was once a key hub for the 20-year-long war the US fought against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Bagram quickly fell into the hands of the Taliban after former President Joe Biden ordered US forces to withdraw from Afghanistan in August 2021.

The military left behind millions of items — including weapons, vehicles, and other military equipment — at Bagram and elsewhere in Afghanistan.

All of these items are possessed by the Taliban, which now rules the country after the US-backed government collapsed without American boots on the ground.

Trump has also said he wants Bagram back because of its proximity to where China manufactures nuclear warheads.

‘We’re trying to get it back,’ Trump told the Daily Mail on Thursday aboard Air Force One. ‘It’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.’

It’s unclear which site Trump is referring to, though the BBC reported in July that there is a nuclear testing site in northwestern China that is 1,243 miles away from Bagram.

A former US official told Reuters that retaking Bagram could essentially mean re-invading the country, since it would require more than 10,000 troops to adequately hold the base.

The anonymous official explained that troops would need to make costly repairs to the base, resupply it and establish a massive perimeter to thwart rocket attacks. That same official said there are no active plans to retake Bagram.

‘I don’t see how this can realistically happen,’ the official said.

Trump has suggested that the US could assume control of the base if the Taliban consented, but its unclear how or if this will materialize.

Experts told Reuters that even if the Taliban consented to a US reoccupation of Bagram, it would need to be defended from various terrorist groups hiding in Afghanistan, including ISIS and al-Qaeda.

The base would also be vulnerable to missile strikes from Iran, who struck a U.S. air base in Qatar last June following attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

‘I don’t think there’s a particular military advantage to being up there,’ a former senior US defense official said. ‘The risks sort of outweigh the advantages.’

Trump has long criticized Biden over the tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan, often focusing on the terror attack that killed 13 US service members and more than 170 Afghan civilians.

The attack took place on August 26, 2021, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

A suicide bomber affiliated with ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, detonated an explosive belt near Abbey Gate, a civilian entrance to the airport.

This area was the main evacuation point for Afghan and other foreign civilians trying to flee the country.

Trump called the withdrawal a ‘total disaster’ on Thursday during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

During his first term, Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, that stipulated US troops would fully withdraw by May 1, 2021.

Biden committed to this agreement after defeating Trump in the next election, but moved the deadline up to August 31, which was when troops officially left.