'Treason!' 'Traitor!' Trump silence slammed after report claims Russia put bounty on US soldiers in Afghanistan
In a shocking revelation that could see deep repercussions both for the US' external affairs and internal politics, a Russian military intelligence unit has reportedly secretly paid Taliban-linked fighters to decimate American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The incident could particularly make things tricky for a poll-bound President Donald Trump who has already been accused of doing little despite knowing about Russia's designs for a long time. The US has remained militarily stuck in the Asian nation for nearly two decades now and tried to make peace deals with the Taliban with little success.
The New York Times reported about the bombshell incident on Friday, June 26, and said Trump was apprised of the matter but Washington reportedly did not take any action. The report said that bounties were even paid at times even though it did not identify if specific American troops stationed in Afghanistan were killed. The group paying the money was not named and was just called a Russian military intelligence unit. The funds were reportedly transferred to Islamic extremists.
The matter came up for discussion at the White House National Security Council and according to the NYT, while policy members had a "menu" of options, from taking a diplomatic retaliation to increase sanctions, officials said the White House is yet to make any response till date. A total of 20 Americans were killed in the Afghanistan clashes last year.
Strong reactions against Trump for 'doing little'
Journalist Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, lashed out at the president on Twitter saying the latter knew about Russian President Vladimir Putin targeting Americans for months but didn’t even condemn Moscow diplomatically. "What Republican senator will speak out against this shocking dereliction of duty?" he asked.
CNN Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga said in a tweet that Trump pushed for Russia's re-admission into the G8 even after he came to know about Moscow's sinister plans. To Golodryga's tweet, former Russian chess world champion and currently chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, Garry Kasparov, called it "treasonous".
Connecticut’s Democratic Senator Chris Murphy tweeted: "Trump found out that Russia was paying bounties to have American soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Then he called on Russia to be readmitted to the G7. Basically every country knows they can kick America around and Trump will either do nothing or reward them." The latest NYT report is bound to put Trump in a spot as he has been repeatedly stressing on improving relations with Russia. He is known for his admiration of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin even though his regime has been accused of interfering in the presidential election of 2016.
Russia has an old Afghanistan connection
Russia's connection with Afghanistan has an old history. The former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan during the Cold War in 1979 and remained there till 1989 when it faced a humiliating defeat and retreated. The debacle hastened the Soviet Union’s collapse in the next few years. Russia has tried to make itself relevant again in Afghanistan now, particularly after the US-led West has struggled to find a solution to its problems and the Kremlin has tried to play a role in restoring peace in the country.
One reason for Russia’s eagerness to play a part in Afghanistan has been the rise of the Islamic State in Central Asia after its debacle in Iraq and Syria and the prospects of the American forces leaving Afghanistan. In September 2018, the Kremlin invited Taliban representatives to Moscow for a meeting to which the government of Afghanistan objected.
In February, Washington inked a deal with the Taliban aiming to bring an end to the endless war. "I really believe the Taliban wants to do something to show that we’re not all wasting time," Trump said after the two parties reached the agreement in Doha, Qatar. He said he would be meeting with Taliban leaders and added: "They will be killing terrorists. They will be killing some very bad people. They will keep that fight going."
In September 2019, the president however said that the talks with the Taliban were dead as he scrapped secret plans to host a Taliban delegation in the US after they admitted killing an American soldier in an attack on Kabul. The talks though resumed eventually but by then, Moscow had entered the scene by holding talks with the Taliban.