Russian bounty program

Last updated

The Russian bounty program was an alleged project of Russian military intelligence to pay bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American and other allied service members during the war in Afghanistan. The existence of the alleged program was reported in the media in 2020 and became an issue in the 2020 presidential election campaign.

Contents

In June 2020, The Washington Post reported that intelligence suggesting the existence of a bounty operation dated to as early as 2018. [1] Both the Washington Post and Associated Press reported that Trump administration officials were informed of the intelligence reports in early 2019. [2] In June 2020, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had assessed, several months earlier, that Unit 29155 of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU had secretly offered Taliban-associated militants bounties to kill U.S. troops and other coalition personnel in Afghanistan, including during peace talks with the Taliban. [3] The New York Times reported that "Officials said there was disagreement among intelligence officials about the strength of the evidence about the suspected Russian plot." [4]

Defense Department officials then reported that U.S. military intelligence was unable to corroborate the reported program. [5] In April 2021, the U.S. government reported that the U.S. intelligence community only had "low to moderate confidence" in the bounty program allegations. [6] [7]

Background

In 2010, Iran reportedly paid Taliban fighters $1,000 for each U.S. soldier they kill in Afghanistan (equivalent to $1,400in 2023). [8] U.S. and British officials have accused Iran of giving support and weapons to the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. [9] [10] In August 2019, The Washington Post reported that Iran's "relationship with the Taliban now spans the economic, security and political realms and is likely to grow as the Taliban asserts itself again." [11] Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been also accused of supporting Taliban. [12] [13] [14]

Russia initially supported the United States' War on Terror and agreed to provide logistic support for the United States forces in Afghanistan. In May 2015, Russia closed a key military transport corridor which allowed NATO to deliver military supplies to Afghanistan through the Russian territory. [15] Intelligence reports that Russia supplies arms to the Taliban have persisted for several years with contact in Northern Afghanistan beginning around 2015. [16] Security officials from the United States and Afghanistan have previously determined that Russia provides financial support and arms to the Taliban and its leaders. [17] [3] Russian government officials have called the accusations baseless. [3] Carter Malkasian, a former adviser to U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan, said that Russia began cultivating relationships with "certain Taliban elements" in northern Afghanistan around 2015, ostensibly as a response to Islamic State activity. [16] According to the BBC, Russia "is deeply concerned about the rise of Islamist fundamentalism in the region spreading in its direction. And it sees the Taliban as one potential bulwark against this." [18] In February and again in May 2019, a delegation of Taliban officials and senior Afghan politicians met in Moscow to hold a new round of Afghan peace talks. [19] [20] Reuters reported that "Russian officials as well as religious leaders and elders had asked for a ceasefire." [21]

Unit 29155 is a covert unit of the GRU tasked with foreign assassinations and other covert activities. The unit has been linked to the 2016 Montenegrin coup plot, the poisoning of Bulgarian arms manufacturer Emilian Gebrev, and the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. [22]

In 2019, 23 American service members were killed during operations in Afghanistan. [23] Ten U.S. service members died from gunfire or improvised explosive devices in 2018 and 16 in 2019. Another two were killed in 2020 prior to the February ceasefire and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the soldiers were killed in green-on-blue attacks (attacks by members of Afghan security forces against coalition forces). [16] In December 2019, the Afghanistan Papers revealed that high-ranking military and government officials were generally of the opinion that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable, but kept this hidden from the public. [24] [25]

According to the lawsuit, filed in December 2019 in the D.C. District Court on behalf of Gold Star families, major U.S. and international defense contractors involved in Afghanistan made illegal "protection payments" to the Taliban, funding a "Taliban-led terrorist insurgency" that killed or wounded thousands of Americans in Afghanistan. [26] [27] A related lawsuit accused the Iranian government. [27] In 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the "protection money" was "one of the major sources of funding for the Taliban." [28]

On February 29, 2020, the Trump administration signed a conditional peace agreement with the Taliban, [29] which calls for the withdrawal of foreign troops in 14 months if the Taliban uphold the terms of the agreement. [30] In May 2020, President Trump said "it is time" to bring U.S. soldiers home from Afghanistan. [31]

Intelligence gathering

Trump White House officials were first informed in early 2019 of intelligence reports regarding a Russian bounty program. [1] [2]

Reports from Afghanistan-based U.S. Special Operations forces and intelligence officers that militants had been paid bounties in 2019 for their targeting of U.S. military personnel were raised in 2019 and 2020. The reports were based on interrogations of captured militants (including interrogations by the U.S. military), interrogations of captured criminals; and surveillance data. [17] [16] The accounts from Taliban militants "from opposite ends of the country and from separate tribes" were similar. [2] Early on, intelligence agencies and analysts disagreed over the reliability of findings based on interrogations of the detainees. Intercepted electronic data showed large bank transfers to a Taliban-linked account from an account controlled by the GRU. Afghan officials said that several businessmen who transferred money through the hawala system were suspected of being intermediaries for the bounty program and were arrested in raids. [32] Around January 2020, a joint operation between US forces and the Afghan National Directorate of Security raided a Taliban outpost in Kunduz. Thirteen people were arrested. One fled to Tajikistan while another, an Afghan drug lord Rahmatullah Azizi, was thought to have escaped to Russia. Security forces recovered around US$500,000 from Azizi's house in Kabul. [33] [32] According to the New York Times, U.S. intelligence identified Azizi as a key middleman, collecting multiple cash payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars from Russia and distributing them to Taliban-linked militants. [33] The raid heightened U.S. intelligence suspicion of a Russian financial link to the Taliban and related networks. [2]

Information on the bounty program was circulated in intelligence reports and two officials said that program was known by the region's CIA station chief as well as military forces tasked with engaging the Taliban. [17] The CIA produced an intelligence assessment, reviewing and confirming the findings. [16] The assessment concluded that Russian military operatives had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks on coalition forces in 2019. [34] Rewards from the bounty program were thought to have been collected by Islamist militants or their criminal associates. [3] Military officials also reviewed past combat casualties to determine whether any of the deaths could be attributed to the bounty program. [17] Investigators focused on two attacks on U.S. troops, one of which was a bombing outside Bagram Airfield in April 2019 that killed Marines Robert A. Hendriks, Benjamin S. Hines, and Christopher Slutman. [32] Officials did not describe how military targets were selected or the exact manner by which militants were paid. [3] The unnamed Afghan officials claimed the bounty program offered up to $100,000 for each American or coalition soldier killed. [33]

Intelligence assessment

The existence of a Russian bounty program would mark an escalation of the ongoing Second Cold War and the first time GRU is known to have orchestrated attacks on Western military personnel. [3] According to a New York Times report in July 2020, the Trump administration had sought to foster doubts about the existence of a Russian bounty program. The National Intelligence Council, which reported to Trump's director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, produced a two-and-a-half page memorandum stating that the CIA and National Counterterrorism Center assessed with "medium confidence" (i.e., "credibly sourced and plausible, but falling short of near certainty") that the GRU had offered bounties, but that the National Security Agency (NSA) and other Intelligence Community components said they "did not have information to support that conclusion at the same level" and thus had lower confidence in the conclusion. [35] A separate Wall Street Journal report said that the NSA has "strongly dissented" from the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency assessments that the bounty plot is credible and real. [36]

The Department of Defense (DOD), in testimony in July 2020 to the House Armed Services Committee by General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said that U.S. defense intelligence agencies had no information to corroborate reports of a Russian bounty program in Afghanistan [37] and lacked evidence of "cause and effect linkages to a Russian bounty program causing U.S. Military casualties." [5] [38]

Upon taking office, Biden directed his administration to conduct a comprehensive review of U.S. policy toward Russia. The bounty reports were included in the review, along with other issues (such as the poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, Russian efforts to interfere with the U.S. elections, and the SolarWinds cyberespionage attack). [39] [40] In 2021, Senator Tammy Duckworth (Democrat of Illinois) asked Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to publicly release a declassified U.S. Intelligence Community assessment of the Russian bounty intelligence in the interest of transparency. [40]

A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) said in an April 2021 statement that the United States Intelligence Community had "low to moderate confidence" in the existence of the Russian bounty program. [41] [42] In U.S. intelligence, "moderate confidence" means that that intelligence assessed the information as "plausible and credibly sourced, but not quite corroborated enough to merit a higher rating" and "low confidence" means the conclusion was "based on questionable or implausible information — or information too fragmented or poorly corroborated to make solid inferences". [7] Officials said that the "low to moderate confidence" was attributable to the sources of the bounty information (Afghan detainees, financial records captured during a raid, and "information and evidence of connections to criminal agents in Afghanistan and elements of the Russian government" [42] ), which cannot be taken at face value, as well as an operating environment in Afghanistan that makes intelligence-gathering (to corroborate hypotheses) difficult. [41] [7] However, this same statement also said that U.S. intelligence had "high confidence" in a separate assessment that Russian military intelligence manages "interaction with individuals in Afghan criminal networks" in a way "consistent with Russia's encouraging attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan." [42] [41] [7] Intelligence experts said that it is typical for intelligence to be murky. [41] [7] [43]

Reporting

Citing unnamed sources, on June 26, 2020, The New York Times reported on a Russian military program to pay bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American soldiers in Afghanistan. [17] Two days later, The Washington Post reported that the bounty program had resulted in the death of at least one U.S. soldier. [16] The Washington Post reported that "Several people familiar with the matter said it was unclear exactly how many Americans or coalition troops from other countries may have been killed or targeted under the program" and that the intelligence, obtained from U.S. military interrogations of captured Taliban-linked militants, had been "passed up from the U.S. Special Operations forces based in Afghanistan and led to a restricted high-level White House meeting" in late March 2020. [16] The Times reported that American investigators had identified at least one attack they suspected of being thus incentivized: a car bombing on April 8, 2019 outside of Bagram Airfield which killed three Marines and wounded three more, as well as injuring at least six Afghani citizens. [4] On July 9, 2020, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. and DOD intelligence agencies have not found a link between alleged Russian bounties and that specific attack. [5]

Reactions

Afghanistan

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that the country cannot be the venue for "big power plays" between world leaders, noting that this brought tragedy to the country in the 19th century and the late 20th century. [44]

Russia

Russia has denied that the bounty program exists, [16] issuing denials through Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, [45] Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, [46] Russia's envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, [45] and Russian lawmaker Frants Klintsevich, a member of Federation Council's defense and security committee. [47] Russian diplomats accused the New York Times of spreading fake news and said that the story led to threats against Russian diplomats. [48] The Russian Foreign Ministry said the story demonstrated the "low intellectual abilities of U.S. intelligence propagandists." [47]

Some Russian experts said that "U.S. intelligence about Russia has become completely detached from reality" and that the reports about bounties "serves only to fuel ... a political civil war between President Donald Trump and his opponents in Washington"; Andrei Kortunovru  [ ru ], director of the Russian International Affairs Council, which is affiliated with the Foreign Ministry, said that making payments to the Taliban would harm Russia's interests by hastening a U.S. retreat from the region and increasing the threat of extreme Islamist forces coming to power in Afghanistan, creating instability and insurrection in the former Soviet states of central Asia. [49] However, according to interviews with Afghan officials, U.S. officials, and foreign diplomats who have served in Kabul, the Taliban, Russia and Iran, although historic adversaries, had a shared strategic interest in U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the Russians viewing the U.S. presence in central Asia as a strategic threat. [50] U.S. intelligence officials said Russia began building a diplomatic channel to the Taliban around 2012. [50] When Russia realized that the US intended leaving Afghanistan, it began working to help the moderate, nationalist factions of the Taliban prevail over the more radical wings. It aimed to move the peace process in a moderate direction through indirect links with the Taliban and, according to Russian experts, may also have "forged more confidential links". [49]

Taliban

The Taliban denied that the bounty program exists, [16] with Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid saying that "our target killings and assassinations were ongoing in years before, and we did it on our own resources" without assistance from intelligence agencies. [3]

United States

Trump administration

The U.S. Intelligence Community's assessment led to an interagency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) at the Trump White House in late March 2020. [16] [17] Government officials said the highest levels of the White House had been briefed on the bounty program [17] and that the program had been included in the President's Daily Brief in late February. [32] A range of responses to Russia were discussed at the meeting, including registering a diplomatic complaint and a series of sanctions, [16] [3] but the Donald Trump administration did not authorize any response. [3] While U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad advocated for directly confronting Russia, officials with the NSC were "more dismissive of taking immediate action". [16] In the months that followed, officials said the bounty program had been "treated as a closely held secret". During the last week of June, expanded briefings were held [3] and the British government was briefed. They were the only coalition member to be formally informed about the intelligence. [16]

Trump and his aides said that he had not been briefed on the intelligence. [51] Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump had not received a briefing on the bounty program. [16] [52] Richard Grenell, who was acting DNI until May 2020, said that he had not been made aware of the bounty program. [16] Trump called the bounty program "Fake News" and a hoax, [16] [52] and wrote on Twitter that U.S. intelligence advised him that it had not reported the matter to him or Mike Pence as it did not find the information credible. [53] [54] The New York Times said that "in denying that Mr. Trump was briefed, administration officials have been coy about how it is defining that concept and whether it includes both oral briefings and the President's Daily Brief." [4] Two officials familiar with the matter said that Trump had received a written briefing in the President's Daily Brief on the Russian bounty intelligence in late February; McEnany said that Trump "was not personally briefed on the matter." [4] Trump reportedly often does not read the President's Daily Brief, instead receiving a periodic oral briefing. [4] Current and former intelligence officials said that even during in-person meetings, Trump "is particularly difficult to brief on national security matters" and "often relies instead on conservative media and friends for information." [4]

National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that Trump's "career CIA briefer decided not to brief him because it was unverified intelligence" and noted that the U.S. receives many pieces of intelligence each week. [55] McEnany said that "There is no consensus within the intelligence community on these allegations and in effect there are dissenting opinions from some in the intelligence community with regards to the veracity of what's being reported." [53] NSC spokesperson John Ullyot said "the veracity of the underlying allegations continues to be evaluated." [16] However, the New York Times, citing two officials, reported on June 29 that "a description of the intelligence assessment that the Russian unit had carried out the bounties plot was also seen as serious and solid enough to disseminate more broadly across the intelligence community in a May 4 article in the C.I.A.'s World Intelligence Review." [4]

Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan—a former CIA analyst, National Security Council staff member, and intelligence briefer—said that in her experience in the George W. Bush and Obama White Houses, a piece of intelligence such as reported Russian bounties on U.S. troops would be considered sufficiently important to be shared with the president even if there were conflicting views among U.S. intelligence. [56] Slotkin said it would be "deeply concerning" if senior staff failed to take such information to Trump despite his five recent phone calls with Putin. [56] Robert Cardillo, a former senior U.S. intelligence official, and David Priess, a former CIA daily intelligence briefer and an author of a book on presidential intelligence briefings, both said that in previous administrations, presidents "received assessments on issues of potentially vital importance even if they had dissents from some analysts or agencies," and that such dissents were also raised to presidents "to help them understand uncertainties and the analytic process." [4] Priess noted that uncertainties were inherent to the nature of intelligence. [4]

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that people would "go to jail" over the reports that allege Russia offered bounties to Taliban fighters. Meadows said "We know a crime was perpetrated... Whoever leaked this –they didn't even leak the whole story... We're determined to get to the bottom of it, we don't have any intelligence that would support the reporting." Rudy Giuliani, a member of Trump's legal team, called the leaker a "deep state criminal who committed a serious crime... I can't think of a worse crime. It's not quite treason but comes close." [57]

In June 2020, Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the House Armed Services Committee that, while no link of such a program to U.S. casualties had been found, the U.S. was still investigating and would "take action" if the bounty program is proven to be true. [5] Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that General Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, and General Scott Miller, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, did not think "the reports were credible as they dug into them." [5] McKenzie said that he found no "causative link" between reported bounties to actual U.S. military deaths, but said the reports were "very worrisome" and said a lack of proof is "often true in battlefield intelligence." [5] In September 2020, McKenzie said that the existence of a Russian bounty "has not been proved to a level of certainty that satisfies me" but that the military continued to seek evidence and considered the matter "not a closed issue." [58]

In 2021, political scientist, Ted Galen Carpenter, gave the Russian bounty allegation as an example of media bias. He suggested that it illustrated the US media's broader tendency to make charges against Trump without evidence. [59]

Congress

Trump never raised the bounty allegations in his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, [51] [43] prompting criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. [7] [43] Many foreign policy experts said that the U.S. administration should have raised the issue with the Russian government, even if definitive proof was lacking. [7] Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump, saying: "This is as bad as it gets, and yet the president will not confront the Russians on this score, denies being briefed." [16] Pelosi referred to Trump's proposals to bring Russia back into the G8, from which Russia was expelled following the annexation of Crimea on March 24, 2014. [16] Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for all members of Congress to be briefed on the matter. [4] [60] The White House gave briefings on its position in June 2020 to a group of eight House Republicans allied to the administration. [61] [4] [62] [63] Among congressional Republicans, Senator Lindsey Graham and Representatives Liz Cheney and Dan Crenshaw expressed outrage at the news and asked for an explanation, [17] [16] while Representative Adam Kinzinger called on Trump to stop the alleged "shadow war" Russia is waging. [17] Other congressional Republicans defended Trump, [61] including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. [63]

On July 1, 2020, the House Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly voted in favor of an amendment to restrict Trump's ability to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. [64] Rep. Seth Moulton stated: "Now we learned that [Trump] was making [peace deal with the Taliban] at the same time as there were bounties on the heads of American troops, American sons and daughters. We clearly need more oversight over what the president is doing in Afghanistan." [65]

Biden administration

In 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden, while campaigning for the presidency, criticized Trump for failing "to sanction or impose any kind of consequences on Russia for this egregious violation of international law" and said the Trump has "continued his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir Putin." [66] Biden further cited Trump's lack of response as proof that Trump's "entire presidency has been a gift to Putin" and promised if he is elected, "Putin will be confronted and we'll impose serious costs on Russia." [67] [68]

On January 25, 2021, four days after Biden had taken office as president and begun receiving more detailed intelligence briefings, he modulated his comments, referring to "reports of bounties." [7] In April 2021, the administration released a fact sheet saying that CIA analysts had "low to moderate confidence" in the existence of a bounty program but had "high confidence" that Russian military intelligence worked with Afghan criminal networks which "is consistent with Russia's encouraging attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan." [6] [7] The intelligence was based on “detainee reporting”. [68] The document said: "The administration is responding to the reports that Russia encouraged Taliban attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan based on the best assessments from the Intelligence Community. Given the sensitivity of this matter, which involves the safety and well-being of our forces, it is being handled through diplomatic, military and intelligence channels." [7] White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called upon "Russia and the Russian government to explain their engagement here." [7]

In April 2021, the Biden administration imposed sanctions against Russian entities and individuals for "carrying out Russian government-directed attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and other acts of disinformation and interference"; for Russian actions in Crimea, and for the SolarWinds cyberespionage attack, [69] but the administration was careful to clarify that the sanctions were not being imposed for bounties. [7] [43]

Others

David B. Rivkin wrote that "this kind of scalp-hunting would be an unprecedented escalatory act. Even at the height of the Cold War, both the Soviet Union and the United States refrained from such activity, despite engaging enthusiastically in proxy warfare in theaters around the world." [70] Former Secretary of State Colin Powell argued that the news media overreacted to the reports, saying "What I know is that our military commanders on the ground did not think that it was as serious a problem as the newspapers were reporting". [71] [72]

U.S. public opinion

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in July 2020 found that 60% of Americans said they found Russian bounty program to be "very" or "somewhat" believable. 54% of those polled wanted to impose more sanctions on Russia, while 9% supported military attacks on the Russian Armed Forces, 29% did not know, and "9% wanted to move on and try to improve relations with Russia". [73]

United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was briefed on the alleged bounty program. He has not released the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee's report on Russian interference in British politics. [22] Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the House of Commons Commons Defence Select Committee, sought to raise an urgent question in the House of Commons on the matter, to obtain an explanation from a government minister. [74]

Other alleged bounty programs targeting U.S. soldiers

Iran was accused of offering bounties for American soldiers later in 2020. [75] U.S. intelligence assessed that Iran (which has often used proxies to carry out attacks in the Middle East) had made payments to the Haqqani network linked to at least six of the network's attacks in 2019 including the sophisticated attack at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on December 11, 2019. [75] U.S. intelligence said that the Haqqani network would probably target U.S. troops even without payment, but that funding associated with the Bagram attack "probably incentivizes future high-profile attacks on US and Coalition forces." [75] According to CNN, the Trump's administration has "never mentioned Iran's connection to the bombing, an omission current and former officials said was connected to the broader prioritization" of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement and withdrawal from Afghanistan. [75] The alleged Iran-Taliban ties were cited as part of the justification for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the U.S.. [76]

Separately, there have been uncorroborated reports that the Chinese government offered bounties to pay for attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan. [77] It was not clear whether any intelligence indicated that any bounties were actually paid or whether any associated attacks were attempted. [77] U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly briefed about the unverified intelligence, despite dismissing reports (deemed more credible by U.S. security experts) about Russian bounties that had been offered. [77]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagram Airfield</span> Military base in Afghanistan

Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base, is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of 1,492 metres (4,895 ft) above sea level, the air base has two concrete runways. The main one measures 3,602 by 46 metres, capable of handling large military aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy. The second runway measures 2,953 by 26 metres. The air base also has at least three large hangars, a control tower, numerous support buildings, and various housing areas. There are also more than 13 hectares of ramp space and five aircraft dispersal areas, with over 110 revetments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban insurgency</span> Islamist Insurgency during the War in Afghanistan

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes</span> Armed clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan since 1949

A series of occasional armed skirmishes and firefights have occurred along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border between the Afghan Armed Forces and the Pakistan Armed Forces since 1949. The latest round of hostilities between the two countries began in April 2007. Militants belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar also use Afghanistan's territory to target Pakistani security personnel deployed along the border. The Diplomat says that the presence of terrorists belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan on Afghan soil is the reason for sporadic shelling of Afghanistan's territory by Pakistani security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span>

The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–United States relations after 1979</span> Overview of Iranian–American relations after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been embroiled in tense relations with the U.S. and its allies. Following the hostage crisis, both countries severed relations. Since then, both countries have been involved in numerous direct confrontations, diplomatic incidents, and proxy wars throughout the Middle East, which has caused the tense nature of the relationship between the two to be called an 'international crisis'. Both countries have often accused each other of breaking international law on several occasions. The U.S. has often accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and of illegally maintaining a nuclear program, as well as using strong rhetoric against Israel, of which Iran has questioned its legitimacy and its right to exist while supporting Hamas, an antizionist terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iran has often accused the U.S. of human rights violations and of meddling in their affairs, especially within the Iranian Democracy Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</span> Armed conflict involving Pakistan and armed militant groups

The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), TNSM, al-Qaeda, and their Central Asian allies such as the ISIL–Khorasan (ISIL), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Movement, Emirate of Caucasus, and elements of organized crime. Formerly a war, it is now a low-level insurgency as of 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistani Taliban</span> Islamist militant organization operating along the Durand Line

The Pakistani Taliban, formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span> Armed conflict between NATO countries and Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict that took place from 2001 to 2021. Launched as a direct response to the September 11 attacks, the war began when an international military coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan, declaring Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the earlier-declared war on terror, toppling the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate, and establishing the Islamic Republic three years later. The Taliban and its allies were expelled from major population centers by US-led forces supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance; Osama bin Laden, meanwhile, relocated to neighboring Pakistan. The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately six months.

Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism refers to the involvement of Pakistan in terrorism through the backing of various designated terrorist organizations. Pakistan has been frequently accused by various countries, including its neighbours Afghanistan, Iran, and India, as well as by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, of involvement in a variety of terrorist activities in both its local region of South Asia and beyond. Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border have been described as an effective safe haven for terrorists by Western media and the United States Secretary of Defense, while India has accused Pakistan of perpetuating the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir by providing financial support and armaments to militant groups, as well as by sending state-trained terrorists across the Line of Control and de facto India–Pakistan border to launch attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir and India proper, respectively. According to an analysis published by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in 2008, Pakistan was reportedly, with the possible exception of Iran, perhaps the world's most active sponsor of terrorist groups; aiding these groups that pose a direct threat to the United States. Pakistan's active participation has caused thousands of deaths in the region; all these years Pakistan has been supportive to several terrorist groups despite several stern warnings from the international community. Daniel Byman, a professor and senior analyst of terrorism and security at the Center For Middle East Policy, also wrote that Pakistan is probably 2008's most active sponsor of terrorism. In 2018, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, suggested that the Pakistani government played a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group. In July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on an official visit to the United States, acknowledged the presence of some 30,000–40,000 armed terrorists operating on Pakistani soil. He further stated that previous administrations were hiding this truth, particularly from the United States, for the last 15 years during the War on Terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haqqani network</span> Afghan Islamist guerrilla insurgent group

The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government in the 21st century. It is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. It is considered to be a "semi-autonomous" offshoot of the Taliban. It has been most active in eastern Afghanistan and across the border in north-west Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State – Khorasan Province</span> Islamic State branch in Central and South Asia

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

U.S. foreign policy during the presidency of Donald Trump was noted for its unpredictability and reneging on prior international commitments, upending diplomatic conventions, embracing political and economic brinkmanship with most adversaries, and stronger relations with traditional allies. Trump's "America First" policy pursued nationalist foreign policy objectives and prioritized bilateral relations over multinational agreements. As president, Trump described himself as a nationalist and a globalist while espousing views that have been characterized as isolationist, non-interventionist, and protectionist, although the "isolationist" label has been disputed, including by Trump himself, and periods of his political career have been described by the alternative term "semi-isolationist." He personally praised some populist, neo-nationalist, illiberal, and authoritarian governments, while antagonizing others, even as administration diplomats nominally continued to pursue pro-democracy ideals abroad.

Events in the year 2018 in Afghanistan.

This article summarizes the history of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State–Taliban conflict</span> 2015–present armed conflict in Afghanistan

The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.

Unit 29155 is a Russian military intelligence (GRU) unit associated with foreign assassinations and other activities apparently aimed at destabilizing European countries. The unit is thought to have operated in secret since at least 2008, though its existence only became publicly known in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan</span> End of the 2001–21 war; second beginning of Taliban rule

The United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the 2001–2021 war. In February 2020, the Trump administration and the Taliban signed the United States–Taliban deal in Doha, Qatar, which stipulated fighting restrictions for both the US and the Taliban, and in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments, provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan by 1 May 2021. Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks on the Taliban to the detriment of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), and its fight against the Taliban insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Taliban offensive</span> Military offensive by the Taliban in Afghanistan

The 2021 Taliban offensive was a military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Kabul-based Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan that had begun following the United States invasion of the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism. The offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders to the Taliban from the village level upwards that started following the February 2020 US–Taliban deal.

The Taliban is an Afghan political and militant movement which has ruled Afghanistan under a theocratic emirate several times in the last 30 years. In August 2021, the Taliban took control of the country, and subsequently established a new government that as of 2024, two countries recognize as the legitimate government.

References

  1. 1 2 DeYoung, Karen; Harris, Shane; Nakashima, Ellen; Demirjian, Karoun (June 30, 2020). "Intelligence reports on Russian bounty operation first reached White House in early 2019". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 LaPorta, James (June 30, 2020). "AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Savage, Charlie; Schmitt, Eric; Schwirtz, Michael (June 26, 2020). "Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Savage, Charlie; Schmitt, Eric; Fandos, Nicholas; Goldman, Adam (June 29, 2020). "Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martinez, Luis (July 10, 2020). "Top Pentagon officials say Russian bounty program not corroborated". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Rawnsley, Adam; Ackerman, Spencer (April 15, 2021). "U.S. Intel Walks Back Claim Russians Put Bounties on American Troops". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ken Dilanian and Mike Memoli (April 15, 2021). "Remember those Russian bounties for dead U.S. troops? Biden admin says the CIA intel is not conclusive". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Report: Iran pays $1,000 for each U.S. soldier killed by the Taliban". NBC News. May 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  9. ↑ Townsend, Mark (June 22, 2008). "Special forces find proof of Iran supplying Taliban with equipment to fight British". The Observer . Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  10. ↑ Maler, Sandra (November 23, 2010). "Iran still supporting Afghan insurgency-U.S." Reuters. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  11. ↑ Tabatabai, Ariane M. (August 9, 2019). "Iran's cooperation with the Taliban could affect talks on U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Saudis Bankroll Taliban, Even as King Officially Supports Afghan Government". The New York Times. June 12, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  13. ↑ Shams, Shamil (March 4, 2020). "US-Taliban deal: How Pakistan's 'Islamist support' finally paid off". Deutsche Welle . Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  14. ↑ Jamal, Umair (May 23, 2020). "Understanding Pakistan's Take on India-Taliban Talks". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  15. ↑ Sands, David R. (May 19, 2015). "Russia closes NATO supply corridor to Afghanistan". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Nakashima, Ellen; DeYoung, Karen; Ryan, Missy; Hudson, John (June 28, 2020). "Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants resulted in deaths of U.S. troops, according to intelligence assessments". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Schmitt, Eric; Goldman, Adam; Fandos, Nicholas (June 28, 2020). "Spies and Commandos Warned Months Ago of Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  18. ↑ Marcus, Jonathan (June 29, 2020). "What's going on between Russia, US and Afghanistan?". BBC News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  19. ↑ Higgins, Andrew; Mashal, Mujib (February 6, 2019). "Taliban Peace Talks in Moscow End With Hope the U.S. Exits, if Not Too Quickly". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Taliban says progress made at Afghan talks in Moscow". Al Jazeera. May 30, 2019. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  21. ↑ Rodionov, Maxim (May 30, 2019). "Taliban say progress made at Afghan talks in Moscow but no breakthrough". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  22. 1 2 Doward, Jamie (June 27, 2020). "Russia offered bounty to kill UK soldiers". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  23. ↑ LeBlanc, Paul (June 28, 2020). "Washington Post: Russian bounties to Taliban fighters believed to result in deaths of US troops, intelligence assessments show". CNN. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  24. ↑ Whitlock, Craig (December 9, 2019). "Confidential documents reveal U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  25. ↑ Pickrell, Ryan (December 9, 2019). "Top US officials knew the Afghanistan war was unwinnable and 'lied' — even as costs rose to $1 trillion and 2,351 American troop's lives". Business Insider . Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  26. ↑ Breuninger, Kevin; Hirsch, Lauren (December 27, 2019). "US contractors sued for allegedly paying 'protection money' to the Taliban in Afghanistan". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  27. 1 2 Schwartz, Matthew S. (December 28, 2019). "Gold Star Families Sue Defense Contractors, Alleging They Funded The Taliban". NPR. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  28. ↑ Shortell, David (December 28, 2019). "Gold Star family lawsuit alleges contractors in Afghanistan funneled money to the Taliban". CNN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  29. ↑ Rai, Manish (March 21, 2020). "U.S.-Taliban Deal: India should Chalk-out a New Strategy". OpedColumn.News.Blog. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  30. ↑ George, Susannah (February 29, 2020). "U.S. signs peace deal with Taliban agreeing to full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  31. ↑ McLaughlin, Elizabeth; Martinez, Luis; Finnegan, Conor (May 27, 2020). "Trump says 'it is time' for US troops to exit Afghanistan, undermining agreement with Taliban". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Savage, Charlie; Mashal, Mujib; Callimachi, Rukmini; Schmitt, Eric; Goldman, Adam (June 30, 2020). "Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on Financial Transfers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  33. 1 2 3 Mashal, Mujib; Schmitt, Eric; Rahim, Najim; Callimachi, Rukmini (July 1, 2020). "Afghan Contractor Handed Out Russian Cash to Kill Americans, Officials Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Outrage mounts over report Russia offered bounties to Afghanistan militants for killing US soldiers". The Guardian. June 27, 2020. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  35. ↑ Savage, Charlie; Schmitt, Eric; Callimachi, Rukmini; Goldman, Adam (July 3, 2020). "New Administration Memo Seeks to Foster Doubts About Suspected Russian Bounties". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  36. ↑ Lubold, Gordon; Strobel, Warren P. (June 30, 2020). "NSA Differed From CIA, Others on Russia Bounty Intelligence" . The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  37. ↑ Ken Dilanian and Mike Memoli (April 15, 2021). "Remember those Russian bounties for dead U.S. troops? Biden admin says the CIA intel is not conclusive". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021. McKenzie's comments reflected a consensus view in the military. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the House Armed Services Committee in July that "All the defense intelligence agencies have been unable to corroborate that report. "That has not changed, a senior official with direct knowledge told NBC News Thursday.
  38. ↑ Courtney Kube & Ken Dilanian, U.S. commander: Intel still hasn't established Russia paid Taliban 'bounties' to kill U.S. troops Archived February 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , NBC News (September 14, 2020).
  39. ↑ Abigail Williams, Dan De Luce, Carol E. Lee and Andrea Mitchell, U.S., E.U. impose sanctions on Russia over Navalny's poisoning Archived March 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , NBC News (March 2, 2021).
  40. 1 2 Lara Seligman, Duckworth urges Biden admin to release intel on Russian bounties Archived March 24, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , Politico (March 1, 2021).
  41. 1 2 3 4 Rawnsley, Adam; Ackerman, Spencer; Suebsaeng, Asawin (April 16, 2021). "U.S. Intel Walks Back Claim Russians Put Bounties on American Troops". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  42. 1 2 3 National Security Council spokesperson (April 15, 2021). "Statement on Russian bounty intelligence provided to The New York Times by a National Security Council spokesperson" (PDF). The New York Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2022. • The United States Intelligence Community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019, and perhaps earlier, including through financial incentives and compensation. • U.S. Intelligence Community agencies have low to moderate confidence in this judgment in part because it relies on detainee reporting and due to the challenging operating environment of Afghanistan. • Our conclusion is based on information and evidence of connections between criminal agents in Afghanistan and elements of the Russian Government. • We cannot confirm that the operation resulted in any attacks on U.S. or Coalition forces. • We assess that a General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) unit managed interaction with individuals in Afghan criminal networks. The United States has high confidence in this assessment because we have independently verified the ties of several individuals in this network to Russia. • Multiple sources have confirmed that elements of this criminal network worked for Russian intelligence for over a decade and travelled to Moscow in April 2019.• We have a strong body of evidence of the activities of this GRU unit. This GRU unit has been involved in other nefarious operations around the world against our allies and partners, including a plot to violently disrupt Montenegro's legislative election in 2016, the attempted assassination of former GRU officer Sergey Skripal in 2018, and assassinations across Europe. • The involvement of this GRU unit is consistent with Russia encouraging attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan given its leading role in such lethal and destabilizing operations abroad. [...] This information puts the burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior. We do not have evidence that the Kremlin directed this operation, but we call on the Russian government to explain itself.
  43. 1 2 3 4 Charlie Savage, White House Warns Russia on Bounties, but Stops Short of Sanctions Archived November 5, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , New York Times (April 15, 2021).
  44. ↑ "How revelations of Russian bounties in Afghanistan could escalate the US-Russia feud". June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  45. 1 2 Cole, Brendan (July 1, 2020). "How Russia Reacted to the U.S. Troop Bounty Claims". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  46. ↑ Brennan, David (July 7, 2020). "Russia Official Blames U.S. For Taliban, Rejects Reports of Moscow Support". Newsweek. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  47. 1 2 Kim, Lucian (July 8, 2020). "Russia Denies Allegations It Paid Militants To Kill U.S. Troops As 'Nonsense'". NPR. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  48. ↑ "False US reports about Russia in Afghanistan led to threats against diplomats — embassy". TASS. June 27, 2020. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  49. 1 2 Weir, Fred (July 9, 2020). "For Russian experts, Taliban bounty report just doesn't make sense". Christian Science Monitor. Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  50. 1 2 Mashal, Mujib; Schwirtz, Michael (July 13, 2020). "How Russia Built a Channel to the Taliban, Once an Enemy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  51. 1 2 "Afghanistan war: US spies doubt reports of Russian 'bounties' for troops". BBC News. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  52. 1 2 Bowder, John (June 28, 2020). "Intelligence suggests Russian bounties led to deaths of several US troops in Afghanistan: report". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  53. 1 2 Subramanian, Courtney; Collins, Michael (June 29, 2020). "'No consensus' in intelligence community over Russia bounty on U.S. troops report, White House says". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  54. ↑ McCarthy, Tom (June 29, 2020). "Trump: I was not told about 'Russian bounties' plot because it was not credible". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  55. ↑ Quinn, Melissa (July 2, 2020). "O'Brien says top CIA official decided against briefing Trump on Russia bounty intel". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  56. 1 2 Cochrane, Emily (July 1, 2020). "Slotkin, Former Intelligence Briefer, Presses White House on Russia Reports". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  57. ↑ Crisp, Elizabeth (July 3, 2020). "Top Trump Aide Vows People Will 'Go to Jail' Over Russia Bounty Leaks". Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  58. ↑ Courtney Kube & Ken Dilanian, U.S. commander: Intel still hasn't established Russia paid Taliban 'bounties' to kill U.S. troops Archived February 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , NBC News (September 14, 2020).
  59. ↑ Carpenter, Ted (2021). "The 'Trump Threat' Saga Continues". www.cato.org. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  60. ↑ Beavers, Olivia (June 29, 2020). "Pelosi, Schumer request US intelligence leaders brief Congress on reports of Russian bounties". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  61. 1 2 Cheney, Kyle; Sherman, Jake; Caygle, Heather (June 29, 2020). "White House briefs Republicans on Russian bounties". Politico. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  62. ↑ "Schumer Floor Remarks Demanding Answers & An All Senators Briefing on Reports of Russian Bounties On U.S. Troops In Afghanistan". United States Senate (Press release). June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  63. 1 2 Kaplan, Talia (June 30, 2020). "Kevin McCarthy calls out Schumer for 'playing politics with American lives' over Russia bounty reports". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  64. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (July 2, 2020). "House Democrats, Working With Liz Cheney, Restrict Trump's Planned Withdrawal of Troops From Afghanistan and Germany". The Intercept. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  65. ↑ Kheel, Rebecca (July 1, 2020). "House panel votes to constrain Afghan drawdown, ask for assessment on 'incentives' to attack US troops". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  66. ↑ Eric Schmitt, Michael Schwirtz & Charlie Savage (June 27, 2020). "Biden Criticizes Trump Over Intelligence on Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops". New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  67. ↑ "Biden slams Trump over reported Russian bounties placed on U.S. troops". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 27, 2020. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  68. 1 2 "White House: Intel on Russian 'bounties' on US troops shaky". AP News. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  69. ↑ Alexander Smith, Kristen Welker, Andrea Mitchell and Abigail Williams, Biden calls for de-escalation with Russia following sanctions, proposes meeting with Putin Archived April 16, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , NBC News (April 15, 2021).
  70. ↑ Rivkin, David B. Jr.; Beebe, George S. (July 5, 2020). "Opinion: Why we need a little skepticism, and more evidence, on Russian bounties". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  71. ↑ Dorman, Sam (July 9, 2020). "Colin Powell suggests media had 'hysterical' reaction to reports on Russian bounty intelligence". Fox News . Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  72. ↑ Edelman, KJ (July 9, 2020). "Retired General Colin Powell Accuses Media of 'Almost Hysterical' Coverage of Russia-Taliban Bounty Program: 'It Got Kind Of Out Of Control'". Mediaite . Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  73. ↑ Kahn, Chris (July 8, 2020). "Most Americans believe Russia targeted U.S. soldiers, want sanctions in response, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  74. ↑ Bunkall, Alistair (June 29, 2020). "Russia offered Taliban-linked fighters bounties to attack British troops - as senior Tory MP seeks answers". Sky News. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  75. 1 2 3 4 "US intelligence indicates Iran paid bounties to Taliban for targeting American troops in Afghanistan". CNN. August 17, 2020. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  76. ↑ "Iran paid bounties for targeting US troops, intelligence reportedly suggests". The Hill. August 17, 2020. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  77. 1 2 3 Crowley, Michael (December 31, 2020). "Trump Was Briefed on Uncorroborated Intelligence About Chinese Bounties". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.