TOPLINE
President Trump went to Twitter early Sunday morning to break his silence on Friday’s bomb report in the New York Times A Russian military intelligence unit offered rewards to militants in Afghanistan for killing US soldiers, even when Democrats harshly criticized the Trump administration for failing to respond.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 26: The President of the United States, Donald Trump, participates in a meeting of the American … [+]
KEY FACTS
Citing informed American officials about intelligence, the Times It reports that Russia last year offered and paid money to Taliban militants to kill US coalition forces in Afghanistan (while 20 US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in 2019, it is unclear if any were linked to the rewards).
Trump received information about the situation in March, and the White House reportedly discussed a response, but no action has been taken.
Late on Saturday, the White House issued a carefully worded response denying that Trump has been briefed on the matter, but added that the statement does not “speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence.”
Earlier Sunday, Trump denied the reports in a Twitter thread:
Trump added that “no one has been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration” and claimed that Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama allowed Russia to take over parts of Ukraine.
Trump then revived the specter of the Ukraine scandal that eventually caused his impeachment by asking “Where’s Hunter?”, A reference to Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden, who held a seat on the board of a Ukrainian national gas company. during the Obama administration.
Taliban representatives denied the charges and the Russian embassy said that Times The story was littered with “anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations” in a message on Twitter.
Key background
Russia and the United States have been embroiled in a so-called shadow war. In 2017, the US intelligence community determined that Russia, under Putin’s leadership, meddled in the US presidential election and developed “a clear preference for President-elect Trump.” The president has, at times, refused to acknowledge the broad consensus of the U.S. intelligence community, amid persistent accusations that he is too friendly with Putin. In 2018, during a summit in Helsinki, Finland, Trump challenged his own intelligence community’s findings on electoral interference while flanked by Putin. Later the comments returned. Earlier this year, intelligence officials warned House of Representatives lawmakers that Russia interferes with the 2020 campaign to try to get Trump reelected in 2020. However, the motivation to pay rewards to the Taliban forces for killing soldiers Americans is unclear. Some officials told the Times Russia may have been seeking retaliation for the 2018 battle in Syria, when the U.S. military killed several hundred pro-Syrian forces. It is also possible that Russia sought to derail the peace talks between the United States and the Taliban. The reports come at a precarious time for the Trump administration. The president has been working to forge a peace agreement with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan, and administration officials told CNN on Friday that the Trump administration is about to make the decision to withdraw more than 4,000 soldiers. from Afghanistan for fall. Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) was one of the few high-profile Republicans who spoke about the New York Times report, saying it is “imperative” that Congress investigate the report and that the “Trump Administration take those allegations seriously” in a message on Twitter.
Crucial quote
On May 8, weeks after Trump had been briefed on the rewards report, Trump told reporters that the United States and Russia have a “great friendship.”
Head of critics
“Is there something Trump doesn’t do for Putin?” the Democrats-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote on Twitter.
More Democrats were alarmed about the report on Saturday and were quick to criticize Trump for not acting faster; Senator Tim Kaine (Democrat of Virginia) wrote on Twitter that it was another example of the president “getting comfortable with Putin.”
Further reading
Russian Espionage Unit paid the Taliban to attack Americans, according to US intelligenceWall street journal)
Russia secretly offered rewards from Afghan militants for killing US troops, according to intelligence (New York Times)
The Russian operation targeted coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to intelligence findings (Washington Post)
Report: Russia Offers Rewards For Taliban Militants To Kill US Soldiers And Other AlliesForbes)
Trump administration finalizes plan to withdraw 4,000 soldiers from Afghanistan (CNN)
This is what happened with the Bidens and Ukraine (Forbes)
