Bagram Airfield
Bagram Airfield or BAF also known as Bagram Air Base is the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan. It is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It has a dual runway capable of handling any size military aircraft, including Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy and Antonov An-225. Bagram Air Base is occupied by the Afghan Armed Forces and the US-led Resolute Support Mission.
Afghanistan–United States relations
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has an embassy in Washington DC, as well as a consulate in New York City and another in Los Angeles. The current Afghan Ambassador to the United States is Hamdullah Mohib, replacing Eklil Ahmad Hakimi in early 2015.
The United States Armed Forces have been gradually rising its troop level in Afghanistan since 2002, reaching about 100,000 in 2010. They are to begin leaving slowly between mid-2011 to the end of 2014. However, Vice President Joe Biden has proposed to station an unknown number of the U.S. military forces after 2014. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also suggested that the United States should stay in Afghanistan permanently. He claims that this would benefit both nations, as the U.S. would have a clear idea about what was happening in the region on a daily basis, and Afghan security forces would have an edge militarily to ensure that the country never went back into the hands of the Taliban. He further claimed that Afghan leaders accept this long-term U.S. military presence since it benefits them, but neighboring Iran and some of its allies are opposed to it, though this claim is disputable.
In January 2017, the U.S. decided to send 300 Marines to Afghanistan's Helmand province to assist Afghan security forces to battle Taliban insurgents in intelligence and logistics matters.