TRUMP'S DREAM OF RETAKING BAGRAM

WHITE HOUSE GOAL COULD REQUIRE OVER 10,000 TROOPS, EXPERTS SAY, AND LOOK LIKE A NEW US INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN

- STORY: PHIL STEWART / REUTERS

US President Donald Trump's goal of reoccupying Bagram air base in Afghanistan might end up looking like a re-invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 troops as well as deployment of advanced air defences, current and former US officials say.

Mr Trump, speaking to reporters on Thursday during a trip to London, said “we want that base back” and cited what he called its strategic location near China.

“It’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Mr Trump said.

The sprawling airfield was the main base for American forces in Afghanistan during the two decades of war that followed the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington by al Qaeda.

Mr Trump, who has previously said he wants the United States to acquire territories and sites ranging from the Panama Canal to Greenland, has appeared focused on Bagram for years.