Tag: Russia paid bounty for dead American soldiers

New Administration Memo Seeks to Foster Doubts About Suspected Russian Bounties

New York Times logoCriticized for its inaction, the Trump administration commissioned a new look at a months-old intelligence assessment. It emphasizes gaps.

A memo produced in recent days by the office of the nation’s top intelligence official acknowledged that the C.I.A. and top counterterrorism officials have assessed that Russia appears to have offered bounties to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, but emphasized uncertainties and gaps in evidence, according to three officials.

The memo is said to contain no new information, and both its timing and its stressing of doubts suggested that it was intended to bolster the Trump administration’s attempts to justify its inaction on the months-old assessment, the officials said. Some former national security officials said the account of the memo indicated that politics may have influenced its production.

The National Intelligence Council, which reports to the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, produced the two-and-a-half page document, a so-called sense of the community memorandum. Dated July 1, it appears to have been commissioned after The New York Times reported on June 26 that intelligence officials had assessed months ago that Russia had offered bounties, but the White House had yet to authorize a response. Continue reading.

Russian bounties were the subject of police raids six months ago — as more details continue to emerge

AlterNet logoIt hasn’t even been a week since the story of Russia offering bounties for the death of American soldiers in Afghanistan first broke. That initial story suggested that the information had been known since spring, but was unclear about when Donald Trump had been informed or whether Russia had actually followed through in its proxy war against the United States. However, since then the story has grown daily. It’s now clear that the program has been in place for over a year, and that Trump was personally briefed on the threat by John Bolton in March of 2019. If that wasn’t enough, the program was also featured in subsequent daily briefs, including on February 27 when Trump had a tough schedule that included meeting with the actors behind the play FBI Lovebirds.

As more information has developed, the one fairly consistent claim from the White House has been that the information was “unconfirmed” and didn’t rise to the level of taking action. However, it’s obvious that this is untrue. The information was highly regarded enough to form the basis of changes to tactics on the ground in Afghanistan, and it has proven laughably easy to confirm the transfer of money between Russia and Taliban militants. Now more information is available, showing that Russia made these payments on multiple occasions and that a series of raids and arrests were made in chasing down the middlemen of the Russia scheme. And this wasn’t something that happened in the last week—it happened over six months ago. Continue reading.

Trump decries Russian bounty reports as ‘fake news’ as his national security adviser says response options were prepared

Washington Post logoPresident Trump continued to insist Wednesday that reports of Russia’s offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan were “fake news,” as his national security adviser disclosed that options had been drawn up to present to Trump on how to respond if the allegations were corroborated.

National security adviser Robert C. O’Brien reiterated during a television interview Wednesday that national security officials decided not to present Trump with unverified intelligence regarding Russia’s purported plans but indicated that they took the situation seriously enough to prepare options for the president.

“If this eventually becomes something that’s proven, or something that we believe, we need to have options for the president to deal with the Russians,” O’Brien said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.” “I can tell you this: If this information turned out to be true, and now we may never know, but if it turned out to be true, we had options ready to go, and the president was ready to take strong action, as he always is.” Continue reading.

The only people dismissing the Russia bounties intel: The Taliban, Russia and Trump

Washington Post logoFor two days now, the White House and Republicans have been affirming — either tacitly or explicitly — that there was indeed intelligence that Russia may have placed bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan. There is disagreement about how firm and actionable that intel has been, but pretty much everyone agrees it exists and is of concern.

Everyone, it seems, except President Trump — along with the Taliban and Russia.

Despite days of disclosures, Trump cannot get out of hoax mode. He claimed Sunday night that he spoke with “intel” and that the information about Russia’s bounties was “not credible.” Since then, we have seen overwhelming confirmation that the intel was real and is of concern even to Trump’s fellow Republicans. The information was significant enough that it was shared with British intelligence last week. Continue reading.

Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on Financial Transfers

New York Times logoAnalysts have used other evidence to conclude that the transfers were most likely part of an effort to offer payments to Taliban-linked militants to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.

American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before, analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations.

Investigators also identified by name numerous Afghans in a network linked to the suspected Russian operation, the officials said — including, two of them added, a man believed to have served as an intermediary for distributing some of the funds and who is now thought to be in Russia. Continue reading.

Father of Marine killed in 2019 bomb attack wants answers amid reports of Russia bounties

“Why hasn’t anybody called me or my ex-wife to settle us?” asked Erik Hendriks, the father of the late Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks.

Amid reports of intelligence about possible Russian bounties for Taliban fighters who kill Americans in Afghanistan, the father of a Marine who died in a roadside bomb attack there last year wants answers.

Erik Hendriks’ 25-year-old son, Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, was among three Marines who were killed in the bomb attack on a convoy outside Bagram Airfield.

Hendriks said he learned about reports of the possible payments to Taliban-linked militants in a call from a reporter Monday. Continue reading.

Ex-intel officials push back against ‘absurd’ claim that Trump wasn’t briefed on Russian bounty info

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump and his administration have found themselves facing yet another Russia-related scandal — this time, over reports that the Russian government offered a bounty to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan if they would kill U.S. troops. White House officials have denied that Trump was briefed on the matter because the intelligence was “not verified,” but according to an article for CNN’s website, former intel officials are having a hard time believing that Trump was never briefed on the bounty.

CNN reporters Zachary Cohen, Jamie Gangel, Barbara Starr, Kevin Liptak and Kylie Atwood explain: “Numerous former senior intelligence officials are pushing back on the White House denials, saying it was ‘absurd,’ ‘ridiculous’ and ‘inconceivable’ that the president would not have been briefed on such critical intelligence that potentially put U.S. soldiers in harm’s way.”

On June 27, National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe claimed, in an official statement, that “neither the president nor the vice president were ever briefed” on the Russia/Taliban intelligence. And White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump “was not personally briefed” because there was too much “dissent” within the intelligence community. Continue reading.

Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say

New York Times logoThe investigation into Russia’s suspected operation is said to focus in part on the killings of three Marines in a truck bombing last year, officials said.

American officials provided a written briefing in late February to President Trump laying out their conclusion that a Russian military intelligence unit offered and paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, two officials familiar with the matter said.

The investigation into the suspected Russian covert operation to incentivize such killings has focused in part on an April 2019 car bombing that killed three Marines as one such potential attack, according to multiple officials familiar with the matter.

The new information emerged as the White House tried on Monday to play down the intelligence assessment that Russia sought to encourage and reward killings — including reiterating a claim that Mr. Trump was never briefed about the matter and portraying the conclusion as disputed and dubious. Continue reading.

House panel demands Pentagon briefing on Russian bounties

Top Republican says they’ve given the Pentagon 48 hours and any delay ‘will not be acceptable’

House Armed Services Committee leaders have pressed the Pentagon for a briefing by Tuesday on reports that Russian spies have been paying insurgents in Afghanistan to kill U.S. troops.

Adam Smith, D-Wash., the committee’s chairman, and Mac Thornberry of Texas, the panel’s top Republican, requested the briefing and have yet to finalize it, Thornberry told reporters Monday, saying: “It will not be acceptable to delay.”

“It is absolutely essential that we get the information and be able to judge its credibility,” Thornberry said of the reports about Russian payments to any Taliban-linked militants who kill Americans. Continue reading.

Trump denies briefing about reported bounties on US troops

WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday that President Donald Trump wasn’t briefed on U.S. intelligence assessments earlier this year that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan because the information had not been “verified.”

Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany asserted that intelligence “would not be elevated to the president until it was verified.” However, it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers.

McEnany added that a House briefing for select members of Congress was being held Monday, but she said that even then, Trump still had not been briefed on the intelligence. Eight Republican lawmakers were in the briefing, an official said, adding Democrats were invited but chose not to attend. McEnany declined to say why a different standard applied to briefing lawmakers than the president. Continue reading.