US hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years
By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press
US hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years
AP Photo/Rahmat Gul
The flag of the United States flies over Bagram Air Base, in Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021. In 2001 the armies of the world united behind America and Bagram Air Base, barely an hours drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, was chosen as the epicenter of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the assault on the Taliban rulers was dubbed.
AP Photo/Rahmat Gul
The flag of the United States flies over Bagram Air Base, in Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021. In 2001 the armies of the world united behind America and Bagram Air Base, barely an hours drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, was chosen as the epicenter of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the assault on the Taliban rulers was dubbed.
A U.S. Marine walks to pick up food supplies after they were dropped off by small parachutes from a plane outside Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan on June 9, 2011. The smoke in the background comes from burning parachutes the Marines destroy after they reached the ground.
Associated Press photographers have recorded the two-decade conflict from every angle. So many of their images have conveyed the drama and grim reality of battle: U.S. Marines nearly swallowed in clouds of swirling sand as they returned fire on Taliban shooters; a Marine with shrapnel wounds to his face and body peering out from behind bloodied bandages; an Air Force paramedic draping an American flag over the remains of two U.S. soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device; Marines rushing a comrade who had been shot in the chest to a waiting medevac helicopter.
Anja Niedringhaus
A U.S. Marine walks to pick up food supplies after they were dropped off by small parachutes from a plane outside Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan on June 9, 2011. The smoke in the background comes from burning parachutes the Marines destroy after they reached the ground.
Associated Press photographers have recorded the two-decade conflict from every angle. So many of their images have conveyed the drama and grim reality of battle: U.S. Marines nearly swallowed in clouds of swirling sand as they returned fire on Taliban shooters; a Marine with shrapnel wounds to his face and body peering out from behind bloodied bandages; an Air Force paramedic draping an American flag over the remains of two U.S. soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device; Marines rushing a comrade who had been shot in the chest to a waiting medevac helicopter.
A child looks on as military vehicles of 5th Striker Brigades drive past his village on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles, File) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
Emilio Morenatti
A child looks on as military vehicles of 5th Striker Brigades drive past his village on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles, File) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
2nd Lt. Andrew Ferrara, 23, of Torrance, Calif., with the U.S. Army's Bravo Company of the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment, based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, turns from the rotor wash of a landing Blackhawk helicopter during a mission for a key leader engagement at the Shigal district center on Sept. 15, 2011, in Kunar province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
David Goldman
2nd Lt. Andrew Ferrara, 23, of Torrance, Calif., with the U.S. Army's Bravo Company of the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment, based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, turns from the rotor wash of a landing Blackhawk helicopter during a mission for a key leader engagement at the Shigal district center on Sept. 15, 2011, in Kunar province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
Lance Cpl. Blas Trevino of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, shouts out as he is rescued on a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off", Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment after he got shot in the stomach outside Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan on June 11, 2011. The Army's 'Dust Off' crew needed two attempts to get him out, as they were fired upon and took five rounds of bullets into the tail of their aircraft. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Anja Niedringhaus
Lance Cpl. Blas Trevino of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, shouts out as he is rescued on a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off", Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment after he got shot in the stomach outside Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan on June 11, 2011. The Army's 'Dust Off' crew needed two attempts to get him out, as they were fired upon and took five rounds of bullets into the tail of their aircraft. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry fire mortars from the Korengal Outpost at Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on May 12, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry fire mortars from the Korengal Outpost at Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on May 12, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade rest inside a tent at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan's Helmand province on June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade rest inside a tent at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan's Helmand province on June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
Injured U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment on June 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Anja Niedringhaus
Injured U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment on June 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La., right, of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., covers an injured U.S. soldier as a helicopter lands to evacuate the wounded after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province on Aug. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
David Goldman
Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La., right, of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., covers an injured U.S. soldier as a helicopter lands to evacuate the wounded after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province on Aug. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
A tattoo on the back of U.S. Army Sgt. James Wilkes of Rochester, N.Y., is seen through his torn shirt after a foot patrol with 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, of the 5th Styker Brigade on May 8, 2010, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The full tattoo reads, "Sacrifice. Without fear there is no courage." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
Julie Jacobson
A tattoo on the back of U.S. Army Sgt. James Wilkes of Rochester, N.Y., is seen through his torn shirt after a foot patrol with 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, of the 5th Styker Brigade on May 8, 2010, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The full tattoo reads, "Sacrifice. Without fear there is no courage." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
U.S. Marines rush Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua T. Twigg, 21, of Indiana, Pa., with a severe gunshot wound to the upper chest, which was fatal, to a waiting U.S. Army Task Force Shadow medevac helicopter to be taken to a field hospital, in southern Afghanistan on Sept. 2, 2010. Despite the efforts of medics on the ground and in the air, Twigg's wounds were too severe, and he was pronounced dead by doctors shortly after arrival at an advanced Role 3 U.S. Army field hospital located minutes by helicopter from the battlefield. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Brennan Linsley
U.S. Marines rush Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua T. Twigg, 21, of Indiana, Pa., with a severe gunshot wound to the upper chest, which was fatal, to a waiting U.S. Army Task Force Shadow medevac helicopter to be taken to a field hospital, in southern Afghanistan on Sept. 2, 2010. Despite the efforts of medics on the ground and in the air, Twigg's wounds were too severe, and he was pronounced dead by doctors shortly after arrival at an advanced Role 3 U.S. Army field hospital located minutes by helicopter from the battlefield. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
U.S. Marines, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, return fire on Taliban positions near the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan on May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
U.S. Marines, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, return fire on Taliban positions near the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan on May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines rest along a tree line after arriving in an overnight air assault near the Taliban stronghold of Nawa in Afghanistan's Helmand province on July 2, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines rest along a tree line after arriving in an overnight air assault near the Taliban stronghold of Nawa in Afghanistan's Helmand province on July 2, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
1st Lt. Nikesh Kapadia, 24, center, of Queens, N.Y., with the U.S. Army's 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., stands in the rain while waiting to go through customs at the Transit Center in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, on the way home after completing a deployment in Afghanistan on Aug. 10, 2011. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
David Goldman
1st Lt. Nikesh Kapadia, 24, center, of Queens, N.Y., with the U.S. Army's 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., stands in the rain while waiting to go through customs at the Transit Center in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, on the way home after completing a deployment in Afghanistan on Aug. 10, 2011. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
Wounded U.S. Marine Sgt. Shane Hanley, center, a squad leader from Easy Company, 2-2 Marines, receives treatment by U.S. Army flight medic Sgt. Michael G. Patangan while airborne in an army Task Force Pegasus medevac helicopter, shortly after Hanley was wounded, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on Feb. 9, 2010. Sgt. Hanley, of Punxsutawney, Pa., who agreed to have photos of himself published, sustained shrapnel injuries to the left side of his body, face and eye when an improvised explosive device detonated below him while he was on a foot patrol. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Brennan Linsley
Wounded U.S. Marine Sgt. Shane Hanley, center, a squad leader from Easy Company, 2-2 Marines, receives treatment by U.S. Army flight medic Sgt. Michael G. Patangan while airborne in an army Task Force Pegasus medevac helicopter, shortly after Hanley was wounded, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on Feb. 9, 2010. Sgt. Hanley, of Punxsutawney, Pa., who agreed to have photos of himself published, sustained shrapnel injuries to the left side of his body, face and eye when an improvised explosive device detonated below him while he was on a foot patrol. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
During a rescue mission by a team from a U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, army medics carry a wounded Afghan Army soldier to an evacuation helicopter, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, on Aug. 2, 2010. U.S. Air Force Pararescumen and helicopter aircrews work together to evacuate wounded combatants and civilians from battlefields in southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Brennan Linsley
During a rescue mission by a team from a U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, army medics carry a wounded Afghan Army soldier to an evacuation helicopter, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, on Aug. 2, 2010. U.S. Air Force Pararescumen and helicopter aircrews work together to evacuate wounded combatants and civilians from battlefields in southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
United States Marine LCpl. Franklin Romans of Michigan, from the 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines "Warlords" searches a house during an operation in the Garmsir district of the volatile Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Dec. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File)
Kevin Frayer
United States Marine LCpl. Franklin Romans of Michigan, from the 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines "Warlords" searches a house during an operation in the Garmsir district of the volatile Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Dec. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File)
Sgt. Joshua Engbrecht, 28, of Riverside Calif., left, and Pfc. Jack Shortridge, 21, of Long Beach Calif., of the U.S. Army's 1st Platoon Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., give each other haircuts under the stars at Combat Outpost Tangi in Afghanistan's Wardak Province on Aug. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
David Goldman
Sgt. Joshua Engbrecht, 28, of Riverside Calif., left, and Pfc. Jack Shortridge, 21, of Long Beach Calif., of the U.S. Army's 1st Platoon Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., give each other haircuts under the stars at Combat Outpost Tangi in Afghanistan's Wardak Province on Aug. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
U.S. Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit try to take shelter from a sand storm at forward operating base Dwyer in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan on May 7, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
U.S. Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit try to take shelter from a sand storm at forward operating base Dwyer in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan on May 7, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
Upon landing after a helicopter rescue mission, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Hedglin, right, an Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ, drapes an American flag over the remains of the first of two U.S. soldiers killed minutes earlier in an IED attack, assisted by fellow PJs, Senior Airman Robert Dieguez, center, and 1st Lt. Matthew Carlisle, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan on July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Brennan Linsley
Upon landing after a helicopter rescue mission, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Hedglin, right, an Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ, drapes an American flag over the remains of the first of two U.S. soldiers killed minutes earlier in an IED attack, assisted by fellow PJs, Senior Airman Robert Dieguez, center, and 1st Lt. Matthew Carlisle, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan on July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry take defensive positions at firebase Restrepo after receiving fire from Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on May 11, 2009. Spc. Zachary Boyd of Fort Worth, TX, far left was wearing 'I love NY' boxer shorts after rushing from his sleeping quarters to join his fellow platoon members. From far right is Spc. Cecil Montgomery of Many, LA and Jordan Custer of Spokan, WA, center. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
Soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry take defensive positions at firebase Restrepo after receiving fire from Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on May 11, 2009. Spc. Zachary Boyd of Fort Worth, TX, far left was wearing 'I love NY' boxer shorts after rushing from his sleeping quarters to join his fellow platoon members. From far right is Spc. Cecil Montgomery of Many, LA and Jordan Custer of Spokan, WA, center. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade flies along the edge of red sand dunes where they collide with a river and farmland on its way to retrieve British soldiers after a 5-day mission in the Helmand province in Afghanistan on June 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
Julie Jacobson
A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade flies along the edge of red sand dunes where they collide with a river and farmland on its way to retrieve British soldiers after a 5-day mission in the Helmand province in Afghanistan on June 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
Tyson Hicks, 2, holds an American flag while in the arms of his father, Sgt. 1st Class Gabriel Hicks, who had just returned from a deployment to Afghanistan with the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team on Sept. 16, 2014, in Macon, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
David Goldman
Tyson Hicks, 2, holds an American flag while in the arms of his father, Sgt. 1st Class Gabriel Hicks, who had just returned from a deployment to Afghanistan with the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team on Sept. 16, 2014, in Macon, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
A U.S. soldier arrives at the scene where a suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 16, 2013. A Muslim militant group, Hizb-e-Islami, claimed responsibility for the powerful explosion that killed and wounded many and rattled buildings across Kabul. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Anja Niedringhaus
A U.S. soldier arrives at the scene where a suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 16, 2013. A Muslim militant group, Hizb-e-Islami, claimed responsibility for the powerful explosion that killed and wounded many and rattled buildings across Kabul. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Spc. Dallas Purdy from Hockley, Texas, hangs a message of support from friends Ashley and Katie Daniels while serving with the 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division at COP Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan on July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Rodrigo Abd
Spc. Dallas Purdy from Hockley, Texas, hangs a message of support from friends Ashley and Katie Daniels while serving with the 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division at COP Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan on July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Air Force Airman 1st Class Tyler Hitter stands by the transfer cases of Army Warrant Officer Joseph L. Schiro of Coral Springs, Fla., right, and Army Staff Sgt. Justin C. Marquez of Aberdeen, N.C., left, as they wait to be lowered from a cargo plane after arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Oct. 8, 2012. According to the Department of Defense, Schiro and Marquez died in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Susan Walsh
Air Force Airman 1st Class Tyler Hitter stands by the transfer cases of Army Warrant Officer Joseph L. Schiro of Coral Springs, Fla., right, and Army Staff Sgt. Justin C. Marquez of Aberdeen, N.C., left, as they wait to be lowered from a cargo plane after arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Oct. 8, 2012. According to the Department of Defense, Schiro and Marquez died in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, on July 8, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
David Guttenfelder
U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, on July 8, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday.
The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety, they said on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
One of the officials also said the U.S. top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces.”
Keep scrolling for a gallery of photos from 20 years of war in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s district administrator for Bagram, Darwaish Raufi, said the American departure was done overnight without any coordination with local officials, and as a result early Friday dozens of local looters stormed through the unprotected gates before Afghan forces regained control.
“They were stopped and some have been arrested and the rest have been cleared from the base,” Raufi told The Associated Press, adding that the looters ransacked several buildings before being arrested and the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) took control.
“Unfortunately the Americans left without any coordination with Bagram district officials or the governor’s office,” Raufi said. “Right now our Afghan security forces are in control both inside and outside of the base.”
The deputy spokesman for the defense minister, Fawad Aman, said nothing of the early morning looting. He said only the base has been handed over and the “ANDSF will protect the base and use it to combat terrorism.”
The withdrawal from Bagram Airfield is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops have left Afghanistan or are nearing a departure, months ahead of President Joe Biden’s promise that they would be gone by Sept. 11.
It was clear soon after the mid-April announcement that the U.S. was ending its “forever war,” that the departure of U.S. soldiers and their estimated 7,000 NATO allies would be nearer to July 4, when America celebrates its Independence Day.
Most NATO soldiers have already quietly exited as of this week. Announcements from several countries analyzed by The Associated Press show that a majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony — a stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the U.S. invasion in 2001.
The U.S. has refused to say when the last U.S. soldier would leave Afghanistan, citing security concerns, but also the protection of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport is still being negotiated. Turkish and U.S. soldiers currently are protecting the airport. That protection is currently covered under the Resolute Support Mission, which is the military mission being wound down.
Until a new agreement for the airport’s protection is negotiated between Turkey and the Afghan government, and possibly the United States, the Resolute Support mission would appear to have to continue in order to give international troops the legal authority.
The U.S. will also have about 650 troops in Afghanistan to protect its sprawling embassy in the capital. Their presence it is understood will be covered in a bilateral agreement with the Afghan government.
The U.S. and NATO leaving comes as Taliban insurgents make strides in several parts of the country, overrunning dozens of districts and overwhelming beleaguered Afghan security Forces.
In a worrying development, the government has resurrected militias with a history of brutal violence to assist the Afghan security forces. At what had all the hallmarks of a final press conference, Gen. Miller this week warned that continued violence risked a civil war in Afghanistan that should have the world worried.
At its peak around 2012, Bagram Airfield saw more than 100,000 U.S. troops pass through its sprawling compound barely an hour’s drive north of the Afghan capital Kabul.
The departure is rife with symbolism. Not least, it’s the second time that an invader of Afghanistan has come and gone through Bagram.
The Soviet Union built the airfield in the 1950s. When it invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to back a communist government, it turned it into its main base from which it would defend its occupation of the country. For 10 years, the Soviets fought the U.S.-backed mujahedeen, dubbed freedom fighters by President Ronald Reagan, who saw them as a front-line force in one of the last Cold War battles.
When the U.S. and NATO inherited Bagram in 2001, they found it in ruins, a collection of crumbling buildings, gouged by rockets and shells, most of its perimeter fence wrecked. It had been abandoned after being battered in the battles between the Taliban and rival mujahedeen warlords fleeing to their northern enclaves.
The enormous base has two runways. The most recent, at 12,000 feet long, was built in 2006 at a cost of $96 million. There are 110 revetments, which are basically parking spots for aircraft, protected by blast walls. GlobalSecurity, a security think tank, says Bagram includes three large hangars, a control tower and numerous support buildings. The base has a 50-bed hospital with a trauma bay, three operating theaters and a modern dental clinic. Another section houses a prison, notorious and feared among Afghans.
There was no immediate comment from Afghan officials as to the final withdrawal from Bagram Airfield by the U.S. and its NATO allies.
