Russia offered bounties to Taliban fighters who killed American soldiers

Trump meets with American Workforce Policy Advisory Board

In the 1980s, the then-Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and their war with the Afghans displaced hundreds of thousands of people and created a failed state for decades. At the time, the USSR and the United States were still in the middle of the Cold War, and the CIA decided to use Afghani mujahideen to fight a proxy war with the Soviets. The slow drip of military and financial losses in Afghanistan contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. That generation of Soviet/Russian leadership learned a lot from their war in Afghanistan. And that generation found a way to apply those teachings to the United States three decades later. Apparently, Russia has a “unit” working with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and they are working against the interests of the United States and NATO. The NY Times reported this weekend that the Russian unit issued a bounty for Taliban fighters killing Americans.

American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan — including targeting American troops — amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter. The United States concluded months ago that the Russian unit, which has been linked to assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe intended to destabilize the West or take revenge on turncoats, had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks last year.

Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money, the officials said. Twenty Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2019, but it was not clear which killings were under suspicion.

The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said. Officials developed a menu of potential options — starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step, the officials said.

An operation to incentivize the killing of American and other NATO troops would be a significant and provocative escalation of what American and Afghan officials have said is Russian support for the Taliban, and it would be the first time the Russian spy unit was known to have orchestrated attacks on Western troops. Any involvement with the Taliban that resulted in the deaths of American troops would also be a huge escalation of Russia’s so-called hybrid war against the United States, a strategy of destabilizing adversaries through a combination of such tactics as cyberattacks, the spread of fake news and covert and deniable military operations.

[From The New York Times]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Vladimir Putin didn’t go to Donald Trump and say “I’m going to kill Americans in Afghanistan, okay.” It’s more like Putin and his henchmen did this, and when Trump – or people within the Bigly administration – called Putin out on it, Putin just denied it and Trump “believed” Putin over American intelligence. That has historically been the case, because Trump is not a spy. Trump isn’t smart enough to be a spy or a double agent. He’s a useful idiot for Russia. Which is just as bad. It’s treasonous, actually. Anyway, Trump woke up in a cold sweat about it, and the White House is officially denying the NYT’s report.

Also: Unit 29155 is the Russian outfit generally responsible for all of those assassinations and assassination attempts in Europe and Russia. They like to poison people and destabilize governments and weaken alliances. While it’s BAD ENOUGH that Russians were offering bounties to the Taliban to kill Americans, it’s a lot bigger than that.

Russian U.S. Summit Meeting in Helsinki

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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46 Responses to “Russia offered bounties to Taliban fighters who killed American soldiers”

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  1. Feebee says:

    I don’t think anyone called Putin out on it. I don’t think Trump’s allowed to speak to Vlad that way.

  2. Edna says:

    Trump never called Putin out on anything and has been generous to Russia by sending medical supplies and other goods. Trump has also been trying to get Putin into the G7 conference. And allegedly U.S. spies and commandos alerted their superiors about the bounties as early as January. Trump and his enablers are lying about not being briefed. They knew and have done nothing.

  3. Sierra says:

    Treason…

  4. Lizzieb says:

    Wow the Dumpster really is Putin’s b*tch….

  5. Esmom says:

    Holy hell. November cannot come fast enough. I’ve said this before but how about we let the MAGAs form their own little coalition of states? They can cherish their beloved guns while not wearing masks and worship their police. Let the rational people actually work toward progress elsewhere.

    • Darla says:

      I would love that, and have wanted this since W’s first term from an election he did not win. And you can trace a lot of this back to him, our right wing supreme court supporting Trump the Traitor for one thing.

  6. C-Shell says:

    Yesterday, there was a list of dates posted on Twitter showing that, from late March to early/mid-May, Trump spoke to Putin *about* six times (sorry, I don’t recall specifics). In early April, there were three calls in three days. The official story was they talked about COVID and other things, but nothing about Afghanistan, the Taliban, or this intelligence. I wish I believed that the full extent of Trump’s treason would be revealed one day, but with the complicit GOP allowing him to trample our democracy unfettered, I’ve lost hope.

  7. Scal says:

    Or they were briefed and he was playing with his phone and not paying attention. Or just not paying attention because he’s a idiot who can’t pay attention to more than one thing at a time-golf, Twitter, coronavirus, golf, press conferences, twitter, golf,

  8. Izzy says:

    At this point, I cannot understand for the life of me how anyone in the military could vote for this treasonous assclown again.

  9. KellyRyan says:

    Collusion. Noel Casler worked for the T organization and was present when Parnas, et al met at T Tower. I’m now following the Lincoln Project, Hoarse Wisperer and Noel on Twitter. LP and HP are fierce in calling out Kevin McCarthy, (R) Kern County, my district. Noel states Drumpf micromanages everything and no way did he not know about the bounty on troops. US has a strong satellite spy system, national security briefings are once or twice a week per Bolton. Trump knew or didn’t know? Either way he’s at fault.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      if he knew, he’s complicit.

      if he didn’t know, it means A) he’s an idiot who doesn’t listen or pay attention during briefings and doesn’t read his daily written one, or B) his team didn’t tell him for whatever reason (he wouldn’t care, he’d make some stupid suggestion for “punching back”, etc).

      none of those options paint him in a very good light. oy vey, we are F*CKED.

    • Anne Call says:

      Sorry about Kevin McCarthy-god I would love to see McCarthy and Devin Nunes voted out in November. I live in a very dem district so I’ll be giving money to their opponents.

    • Nic919 says:

      Dump knew. He’s lying that he didn’t. Several military people knew this was going on since January and were reporting this at that time. There is no way they didn’t tell him. He just doesn’t care because he is a traitor. He should be shot like all traitors and the reason why never trumpers are freaking out is because they know just how much of a traitor he actually is. The GOP who support him need to be removed and in some cases arrested as well. American national secrets are being given to Putin, MBS etc. Dump is a danger to the US.

  10. Lightpurple says:

    Trump has withdrawn troops from Germany.
    Trump has argued that Russia should be included in G7.
    Russian military planes are flying over our airspace in Alaska.
    Trump is a traitor

  11. Christin says:

    Follow the money. This is why pre-election, accurate disclosure of a candidate’s financials should be a requirement.

    Otherwise, a leader can be distracted by his own financial gain (or be loyal to foreign debt holders).

    Take the pandemic response (which will likely become an excuse for why he couldn’t respond to the bounty intelligence). If Orange could make millions on encouraging mask wearing, I think our illness numbers would be entirely different.

    • KellyRyan says:

      Deutche Bank, 500M due in 2021 byDrumpf. I have suggested if we have a Biden, Senate win we need an added amendment to our Constitution, full vetting, full financial disclosure. US citizen over 35 is not enough.

      Drumpf made money investing in hydrochroaquine. The Federal government purchased 63 million doses at our expense and they sit unused, not dispensed. This is one of a number of financial abuses by Drumpf.

      I disagree with a Drumpf endorsement of any product. He’s a failure in business, 6 bankruptcies, casinos, Trump University, (fraud), airlines, steaks, condos, etc.

      • Christin says:

        I don’t think he should endorse anything for personal gain. either. What I believe is that this type of thinking drives decisions.

      • lucy2 says:

        The sad part is even if we had those protections, Barr wouldn’t do anything about it. He’s as bad and corrupt as Trump. I’d almost welcome the era of Sessions at this point, and that is the lowest possible bar.

      • anon says:

        Citibank too, and Bank of China. Trumps owes over one billion to be repaid over the next two years.

  12. Ivon says:

    Thank you for posting about this.

    THIS IS TREASON.

    How can republicans in Congress stand by this loathsome human being. There is no more Republican Party it’s just a subsidiary of Trump inc.

    What a disgrace.

    • Darla says:

      Yes, it’s Treason, whether legally or not because we’re not technically at war, it’s treason. We all know what he is. He’s a traitor.

    • shanaynay says:

      The republicans in Congress are all wussies!!!!!!! They have no backbone to stand up to DT!!!

    • KellyRyan says:

      Repubs are very quiet this morning on Twitter. How big is that bunker? 🙂 I think Dems are in process of deciding the next course of action. Watch for the balance of Supreme Court decisions tomorrow. I believe 3 involve Drumpf.

  13. Darla says:

    I agree for the most part except I don’t believe he called Putin on this. I think he was told about it and ignored it because he’s a double authoritarian. He loves to dominate and humiliate those he considers weak and powerless, while being starstruck by the strongmen he idolizes. They’re all Big Daddies to him, and he craves their approval, affection, and acceptance. He wants them to consider him their equals.

  14. isabel says:

    Yep. Even Fox reported on it (but buried it). There’s already been an update to this, they’ve confirmed that it’s cost US lives.

    • Christin says:

      At the top of the 6 AM hour this morning, Faux* was talking about deaths in Chicago. The other major networks were covering the bounty and increased COVID cases.

      * I admit to flipping channels to see what alternate reality is happening on the entertainment channel masquerading as a “news” source.

  15. Mumbles says:

    If nothing that Trump says can be trusted (true), the intelligence community comes in a close second as to untrustworthiness. Just now msnbc was reporting that there are conflicting reports as to whether this is true. Just look at the goons who are making a big deal out of it – the Cheneys and John Bolton. The only thing more fun for them than a permanent war in the Middle East is a permanent war with Russia.

    • anon says:

      Bless your DSA Russian apologist heart, Mumbles.
      This has been confimerd multiple times, not only US intelligence, but British, Canadian, German… all NATO forces in Afghanistan have been under attack. Last week, a reich-wing American soldier was arrested for providing info on his unit location and its missions to the Talibans to they could organize an attack. This has been happening for a while.

  16. Joan Callamezzo says:

    Impeach him again. This is obscene. The orange clown is a treasonous traitor and needs to be removed from office. I pray this story doesn’t go away and that the Democrats shout it from the roof tops every day until the election.

  17. Sean says:

    Trump and his family need Putin’s oligarchs/mafia to continue loaning them money as well as launder it via Trump properties.

    Trump is still hoping for a Trump Tower in Moscow which requires Putin’s approval to be built.

    Trump does not want the “p-tape” released. Notice, it’s not “pee tape” as in prostitutes urinating on Trump or something else. If it truly was just Trump with prostitutes, he’d be bragging about it, talking up his sexual prowess. The Steele Dossier called it the “P HYPHEN TAPE” as in the “p” stands for something specific. I’m betting it’s something illegal and not just illegal but so bad even Trump knows his brand wouldn’t recover from it.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Given the stories that he likes them young (boys and girls) I think we know what the ‘P’ stands for. Also wasn’t Ivanka with him on that particular trip.

      • Sean says:

        Nothing would surprise me. He’s made how many disgusting comments about Ivanka? Not to mention all of the inappropriate photos of them. Former Trump employee Noel Casler has stated multiple times he witnessed Ivanka give daddy a lap dance in a room full of onlookers. Also, think about the circle of close associates Trump has kept over the years: Jeffrey Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, Tevfik Arif. All pedophiles.

        I also suspect Trump may have actually been caught murdering someone. Think about it, His temper has been well-known and everything single story about Trump and women involves sexual assault. It wouldn’t surprise me if there have been occasions where he went further.

        Lastly, I think it’s safe to say Trump has a weird sexuality. Consider his “Grab ’em by the pussy” comment. Putting aside it’s abhorrent nature, it’s just a weird thing to say. You can’t grab someone by their pussy, it doesn’t work like that. It reminds me of the scene in “The 40 Year Old Virgin” where Andy describes a breast feeling a bag of sand. It almost sounds like Trump has no idea what he’s talking about (big surprise). Like his business empire, his entire persona is a facade; a construction of what a successful businessman is “supposed to be”. It’s like everything he projects, it’s not because who he genuinely is but what he thinks a rich tycoon is supposed to be. Owning beauty pageants, sleeping with models. All stereotypes of what an “alpha” is meant to be. That’s why he’s always been cartoonish.

        Yet it’s interesting that while he has been surrounded by models and moved in famous circles, there’s never been any talk of him dating or sleeping with anyone notable. Every one of them, save for two adult film stars have been unknowns. That could be because the majority of his “conquests” were actually trafficking victims. It just interesting that despite his “worth” there are no stories of him sleeping with a famous actress/model/etc. It’s also worth noting that not only did his first wife Ivana accuse him of rape, she also once said that when they first got married, she had to provide him with “how to” books regarding sex. According to her, he had no clue how to have sex with a woman.

        If the “p-tape” was actual footage of him sleeping with beautiful women, he’d be bragging about it not trying to hide it

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        Your last 2 para’s are interesting – I didn’t know about the books. I once worked with a guy who was out when he was in his youth, at some point he decided he was straight and since then spent an awful lot of time trying to convince everyone of his prowess with women endlessly bragging about his conquests. We were all convinced that the only person he was trying to convince he liked women was himself and we also thought that many of his conquests were paid for.

        As for him ‘not getting it on’ with famous women, none of them would touch him. There are a few well known women who have come out saying he propositioned them and they turned him down – Emma Thompson was one of them.

  18. Christine says:

    Oooo I can’t wait to see what kind of excuse my ex-Marine MAGA neighbor comes up with. Last week he told me I should be thankful that Trump allowed me to afford a new car. The logic…??

    • Christin says:

      Your neighbor sounds like a gem.

      I guess we should all thank the Orange Furor (purposeful misspelling) for the economic instability and virus mishandling that led to low rates and a stimulus.

  19. Coco says:

    Kompromat, kompromat, kompromat.

  20. adastraperaspera says:

    Gut wrenching. But why leaked now? Because it’s untenable, of course. And yet it may also be information leaked to set the stage for Trump’s departure, leaving us to a Pence/Haley ticket they think will get back white suburban women demographic. The GOP does not want to lose the Senate and Presidency. They are bent on the creation of an authoritarian state here, ruled by a white male minority. They hate democracy so much that they’ve allied with Putin to destroy it.

  21. Leah says:

    Trump doesn’t question Vlad, he only kowtows. I’m so tired of my country being run by the Russian govt.

  22. Charfromdarock says:

    This is sickening.

    I mean, everything about him is depraved and disgusting but this is treason. I don’t know US law but surely it must be.

  23. Jerusha says:

    #TRE45ON