Out the Door, In Through the Window

News:

Trump says 'bad things' will happen if Afghanistan does not return Bagram air base. (Reuters)

Comment:

Once again, America exposes its arrogance before the world. Donald Trump’s warning that “bad things will happen” unless Afghanistan hands over Bagram Air Base reflects the same imperialist tone that has long defined U.S. policy toward Muslim lands. Such words are not the language of sovereign states engaging as equals, but rather the dictates of a colonizer who sees Muslim soil as a military outpost for its ambitions. This is the true nature of Western politics: coercion, threats, and disdain for the sovereignty of our lands.

America’s insistence on reclaiming a base in Afghanistan underscores its reliance on Muslim territories to project military power. Without such fortresses, America cannot dominate the region or contain its rivals. Bagram is not about Afghanistan’s security—it is about America’s hegemony, ensuring that Muslims remain divided and subdued while their lands and resources serve foreign interests.

What is clear is that while America was defeated militarily in Afghanistan, it did not suffer a political defeat. Over two decades, it mapped Afghanistan’s wealth but deliberately left it undeveloped, ensuring that the Taliban inherited nothing but ruins. Rather than uniting with the wider Ummah to pursue the Islamic obligation of establishing the Khilafah, the Taliban confined themselves within colonial borders and sought legitimacy from the very powers that devastated the land.

Trump’s words today only confirm this reality: America never truly left Afghanistan. Instead, it left behind a weakened, shackled state—one vulnerable to external manipulation. By admitting Afghanistan “needs what we provide” and by highlighting Bagram’s strategic importance, Washington shows that its occupation merely shifted form rather than ended. This is the essence of colonial policy—destroy, restrain, and return whenever interests demand.

This is not simply about one air base. It is about a global struggle: the Ummah’s yearning for independence versus the West’s determination to maintain control. We must reject these arrogant threats and understand that true liberation will not come through foreign agreements, puppet governments, or hollow slogans. It will come only through unity upon Islam—by establishing the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood, which will safeguard our lands and decisively uproot colonial influence.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Haitham Ibn Thbait
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in America