President Trump recently claimed that the US needed to regain control of Bagram Air Base, the sprawling facility the US once operated north of Kabul, because it was an hour from where China makes nuclear bombs. China's nuclear sites are instead in central and eastern parts of the country, far beyond an hour's flight from Afghanistan. However, behind these 'alternative facts' lies a more serious question: is Washington contemplating a return to its old Afghan footprint?

The idea is not as far-fetched as it seems. During the US presence in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, Bagram had served not just as a launchpad for counterterrorism operations, but as a geopolitical listening post astride the fault lines of South and Central Asia - within reach of Iran, Russia and western China. In an era where the Pentagon is increasingly concerned about great-power competition, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, such a foothold could prove indispensable.

China is steadily consolidating its own influence. Its trade with........

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