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.
Seth Jones (political scientist)
On March 21, 2017, Seth G. Jones outlines an Afghanistan foreign policy strategy for the new Trump administration, in the article, “How Trump Should Manage Afghanistan: A Realistic Set of Goals for the New Administration.” (Jones) Jones describes that the current administration faces major issues in Afghanistan. The country is still a vital state in combating the war on terror. Jones discusses that the United States should have a realistic set of goals for Afghanistan. He states, “The United States should thus not expect the Afghan government to defeat the Taliban on the battlefield over the next four years of the administration. Instead, Washington should set a more realistic goal: to ensure that the Taliban doesn’t win. In order to do this, Washington could take several steps.” (Jones) Jones lays out two main areas the United States should focus on. First, the United States should continue to encourage for governance reform in the country. Past elections have been riddled with corruption. The United States has to push to make sure this does not happen. He also determined that the United States should encourage a “diplomatic reconciliation” with the Taliban. The next point Jones makes has to do with the amount of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. General Nicholson has requested, “several thousand additional troops.” (Jones) Jones concludes that this is a reasonable request.