General Mark Milley, America’s top general and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the Pentagon was working to corroborate reports of Russia paying Taliban fighters to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, and vowed a response if they were confirmed.
US President Donald Trump is facing renewed scrutiny over his relationship with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after an explosive set of reports by the New York Times claimed that Trump was briefed about Russia’s actions in early March and yet failed to act on them. Trump has previously referred to the plot as a “possibly another fabricated Russia hoax.”
Also read: Trump Denies Being Briefed On ‘Russian Bounties’ Plot Against US Troops in Afghanistan
However, Milley and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper asserted that the administration was taking the issue seriously and emphasized that the US “will take action” if the reports are found to be true. Both Milley and Mark did not dispute Russia’s involvement in Afghanistan or its support for the militant group, but they made clear that they had not seen intelligence directly pointing to the deaths of US troops due to the “bounty” payments. Esper added that he had seen the intelligence about Russian payments to the Taliban in February after having been reviewed by the Pentagon, but said that his top generals did not believe those reports to be credible at the time.
This claim clashes with comments made by Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, who earlier this week said the reports were “very worrisome.” However, McKenzie acknowledged that he too did not find a causal link between the bounty program and the death of US soldiers, but said that he urged intelligence officials to probe further into the matter.
Both Milley and Esper said that Russian support for the Taliban has been well known for years, and remains a key concern for the military, which continues to prioritize force protection. Milley also suggested that the Trump administration was perhaps not doing as much as it could in non-military ways to deter Russia or any other foreign governments from supporting militant groups in Afghanistan.
Also read: Former National Security Advisor Bolton Urges US Sanctions If Russian Bounty Plot Is True
Former National Security advisor John Bolton has said that if the allegations are true, they are “tantamount to an attack on Americans directly” and emphasized on the need for a more “comprehensive strategy” to deal with Russia. “I think it’s got to be a very strong response to re-establish deterrence,” he added.
House Democrats have also said that Trump should be looking to impose restrictions on Moscow. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee said: “As we look at these allegations, number one, the president of the United States should not be inviting Russia into the G7 or G8. We should be considering what sanctions are appropriate to further deter Russia’s malign activities”. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called Trump ‘s handling of the matter a “dereliction of duty”.
The Kremlin has strongly denied these allegations, claiming that it is just another attempt by “US intelligence propagandists” to smear Russia’s name. Frants Klintsevich, a member of the Russian upper house’s defense and security committee, has said that the accusations are completely “stupid” and that Russian authorities have no political, economic or military interest in engaging in such tactics.
Image Source: PRI