Lindsey Graham Calls for US Military to Retake Bagram Air Base

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Thursday for American military personnel in Afghanistan to retake Bagram Air Base after two suicide bombers rocked Kabul and wounded at least three service members.

“This despicable terrorist attack against innocent civilians at the Kabul airport, which injured American Marines, is a reminder of the depravity the world faces from Afghanistan,” Graham wrote on Twitter shortly after the attack. “I have advocated for days that the Bagram Air Base should be reopened as the Kabul airport is very difficult to defend and has been the only evacuation outlet. We have the capability to reestablish our presence at Bagram to continue to evacuate American citizens and our Afghan allies. The biggest mistake in this debacle is abandoning Bagram.

“I urge the Biden Administration to reestablish our presence in Bagram as an alternative to the Kabul airport so that we do not leave our fellow citizens and thousands of Afghan allies behind,” he added. “It is not a capability problem, but a problem of will.”

The retaking of Bagram would put our military at risk, but I think those involved in the operation would gladly accept that risk because it would restore our honor as a nation and save lives.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 26, 2021

The United States made headlines in July when it abandoned the base about 40 miles from Kabul without notifying its new Afghan commander. Officials in the country said they learned it had been abandoned two hours after U.S. personnel left.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby dismissed the idea of retaking Bagram’s airfield during a Monday press conference, three days before Thursday’s suicide bombings, saying throughput had “improved and increased” at Kabul’s airport. “I don’t think it would be a useful expenditure of our time to Monday morning quarterback the whole issue with Bagram,” Kirby told reporters, saying it had been closed as part of a “retrograde.”

Graham added in his comments on Thursday, “The retaking of Bagram would put our military at risk, but I think those involved in the operation would gladly accept that risk because it would restore our honor as a nation and save lives.”