US Investigates Claim that Russia Placed Bounties on Troops

The deaths of three Marine Reservists on April 8, 2019 are now at center stage in the controversy over whether Russia paid operatives in Afghanistan bounties for US troop deaths.

US Investigates Claim that Russia Placed Bounties on Troops

In late June, news broke that Russia had secretly been paying bounties to the Taliban for killing Americans in Afghanistan. Officials, speaking off the record to The New York Times, said that the intelligence community had come to this assessment in early 2020, with President Donald Trump being briefed in February or March at the latest. Despite the White House’s National Security Council creating a plan to combat and end this practice, Trump has yet to authorize any action as of July 1.

American officials reported large financial transfers between Russian accounts and Taliban accounts, based on digital records. They have also identified a possible middleman between Russia and the Taliban.

Both Russian and Taliban spokespeople have denied these allegations on the record. However, some Russian lawmakers have also spoken about such agreements in hypotheticals. Russian Parliament Member Aleksei Zhuravlyov estimated that if bounties were paid, at most 22 American troops would have been killed as targets, according to reporting by The New York Times.

Why Russia Might Be Willing to Pay

Russia and the US have long stood on opposite sides. At the end of World War II and the division of Europe among the Allies, the two nations engaged in a decades long stand-off. Known as the Cold War, the US and former USSR, now Russia, built stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, maneuvered for alliances and raced into space – all in an effort to top each other. The Cold War largely ended with the fall of the USSR in the early 1990s.

A large part of the eventual downfall of communism in Russia was connected to a nominally separate battle being waged in Afghanistan during the 1970s and 1980s. Russia was attempting to consolidate and dominate Afghans, a people who primarily identify with local or tribal leadership. The CIA covertly supplied the Afghan fighters with weapons and other war materiel. Eventually, Russian forces were depleted and withdrew at a great loss.

In recent years, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, a former KGB operative and Communist Party leader in the USSR, Russia has been exerting its influence and strength in Eastern Europe. In 2014, Russian troops occupied areas of the Ukraine, claiming them as traditionally and culturally Russian. The US opposed such a move and, under President Trump, sent Javelin missiles with the condition they not be used in the conflict with Russia. In addition, US troops reportedly killed many Russian mercenaries during fighting in Syria in 2018.

Throughout his first term, Trump has largely been complimentary toward Putin and about Russia. He frequently upholds Putin as a role model and praises the Russian government. Most recently, Trump has been angling to include Putin and Russia in the G7 conferences.

Were US Troops Killed for Cash?

Democrats, who were briefed on this matter in late June, appear to believe the intelligence community.

“Nothing in the briefing that we have just received led me to believe it is a hoax,” said Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) following their classified briefing on June 30.

However, there is no publicly available evidence to link the deaths of Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman, 43, Staff Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, and Robert A. Hendriks, 25, to any Russian bounty plot.

Intelligence officials are still investigating links to other US troops deaths in 2019. According to the LA Times, several associates of suspected Russian-paid Taliban operatives in the bounty scheme were arrested in March and are being held for questioning.

Bounty Scheme’s Impact on Troop Support for Trump

Friends and family of the Marines killed on April 8, 2019 described their feelings about these new allegations as “pouring salt on a wound,” according to reporting by The New York Times.

Other veterans have also spoken out against Trump’s reaction to intelligence briefings, though it remains unclear whether support for him among the military community will erode as a result. The news about Russian bounties for US troop deaths broke a month after General Jim Mattis, USMC (ret.), and Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (ret.), broke ranks to speak out against the president and his administration.

Do you think it’s plausible that Russia paid a bounty to Taliban operatives? Sound off in the comments.