So About This Russian Bounty Thing
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@Larry said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
You and Jon have both claimed this was reported by both the NYT and the AP. That's a lie. The AP did NOT report this story. It reported on what Biden said ABOUT the story reported by the NYT.
https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1
The Russians have stated it's not true.
Oh, well why didn’t you tell me? They would definitely know if they paid bounties for dead US soldiers. So if they say it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen.
Never mind then.
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@Loki said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
I’m telling you Bolton’s book is a dud and he is trying to pump life into it with this story. The NYT hate Bolton more than life itself but are willing stooges in this story line.
Didn't Bolton say that he advised POTUS about the bounty, and then say he didn't know anything about it?
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@George-K said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
@Loki said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
I’m telling you Bolton’s book is a dud and he is trying to pump life into it with this story. The NYT hate Bolton more than life itself but are willing stooges in this story line.
Didn't Bolton say that he advised POTUS about the bounty, and then say he didn't know anything about it?
Yup.. he’s trying to distance himself while commenting on it and I’m sure whispering into others ears who whisper into others ears. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets confused, scared and ambivalent.
There’s a lot about Bolton that I’m sure he doesn’t want to see the light of day.
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@jon-nyc said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
@Larry said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
You and Jon have both claimed this was reported by both the NYT and the AP. That's a lie. The AP did NOT report this story. It reported on what Biden said ABOUT the story reported by the NYT.
https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1
The Russians have stated it's not true.
Oh, well why didn’t you tell me? They would definitely know if they paid bounties for dead US soldiers. So if they say it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen.
Never mind then.
The Taliban also says it's not true. The Pentagon also says it's not true. You can remain stuck in sheep mode if you want, just don't expect me to join you in your delusion.
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@jon-nyc said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
@Larry said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
You and Jon have both claimed this was reported by both the NYT and the AP. That's a lie. The AP did NOT report this story. It reported on what Biden said ABOUT the story reported by the NYT.
https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1
The Russians have stated it's not true.
Oh, well why didn’t you tell me? They would definitely know if they paid bounties for dead US soldiers. So if they say it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen.
Never mind then.
The NSA also says it has no information on this. That means, even if there is anything at all to it, it's HUMINT, unverified, and most likely a feed from an unfriendly person at the CIA
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/world/asia/afghan-russia-bounty-middleman.html
Rahmatullah Azizi stands as a central piece of a puzzle rocking Washington, named in American intelligence reports and confirmed by Afghan officials as a key middleman who for years handed out money from a Russian military intelligence unit to reward Taliban-linked fighters for targeting American troops in Afghanistan, according to American and Afghan officials.
As security agencies connected the dots of the bounty scheme and narrowed in on him, they carried out sweeping raids to arrest dozens of his relatives and associates about six months ago, but discovered that Mr. Azizi had sneaked out of Afghanistan and was likely back in Russia. What they did find in one of his homes, in Kabul, was about half a million dollars in cash.
American and Afghan officials for years have maintained that Russia was running clandestine operations to undermine the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and aid the Taliban.But they only recently concluded a Russian spy agency was paying bounties for killing coalition troops, including Americans, which the Kremlin and the Taliban have denied.
If true, it's shocking.
It's even more shocking that, if what we hear from the White House, it POTUS wasn't told about it.
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Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said on Wednesday that after reading classified intelligence he believes the Trump administration should brief the Senate on reports that Russians offered bounties to Taliban-linked fighters to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Toomey in a statement said he had read documents made available behind closed doors but that they had raised more questions for him.
“I have reviewed the classified information regarding bounties, upon which recent news reports are based. This information raises many questions and administration officials should come before the Senate and provide a classified briefing and answer questions from all members,” Toomey said.
“If it is concluded that Russia offered bounties to murder American soldiers, a firm American response is required in short order,” he added.
The administration has made intelligence reports available for senators in the sensitive compartmented information facility.
The Senate Intelligence Committee also met on Wednesday with Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as part of a pre-scheduled meeting. And the administration is set to brief the Gang of Eight, which is made up of leadership and top members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Thursday.
But the administration has not provided the all-Senate briefing Democrats have demanded. The Senate is set to leave town for roughly two weeks on Thursday.
The New York Times first reported Friday, followed by several other news outlets, that the intelligence community concluded months ago that a unit within the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, secretly offered payments to Taliban-linked militants for attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan last year.
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@Horace said in So About This Russian Bounty Thing:
This is the nothing burger to end all nothing burgers of the Trump presidency thus far.
And the GOP is demanding the investigation. In true fashion the NYT will be on to something else by the time they return from the Fourth of July break.
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Turn it around. Let us say Russia had decided to end the narco-state in Mexico and for whatever reason we could not militarily stop them. You think we would not do the same thing or something similar? It is important to remember that Afghanistan borders Russia.
Personally I doubt the story is true, but if it is it is not particularly shocking to me. More like business as usual.
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So the intelligence community briefed a congressman but not the president?