White House denies Trump briefed on 'Russia Afghanistan assassination plot'
New York Times claims
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Your support makes all the difference.The White House has denied reports that Donald Trump ignored a warning from US intelligence that the Russian military had offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan to kill American troops and other coalition forces.
The New York Times reported the claim on Friday, triggering a storm of accusations that the president had failed to protect US and allied troops, including those from Britain.
Citing officials briefed on the matter, the Times said the US determined months ago that a Russian military intelligence unit linked to assassination attempts in Europe had offered rewards for successful attacks last year.
Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money, the newspaper said. The White House, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence initially declined requests from Reuters for comment on the report.
On Saturday afternoon, the White House denied Mr Trump had been briefed on the matter, but did not dispute that US troops were being targetted, something likely to give the story further life.
“The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day and they are subject to strict scrutiny. While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA Director, National Security Advisor, and the Chief of Staff can all confirm that neither the President nor the Vice President were briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence," press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany said in a statement.
"This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of the New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter.”
See below to see how the drama played out:
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Russian military offered bounties on US troops, Trump does not authorise steps against Kremlin
US intelligence has concluded that the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan to kill American troops and other coalition forces, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Citing officials briefed on the matter, the Times said the US determined months ago that a Russian military intelligence unit linked to assassination attempts in Europe had offered rewards for successful attacks last year.
Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money, the newspaper said.
The White House, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined requests from Reuters for comment on the Times report.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the intelligence finding, the Times said. It said the White House has yet to authorise any steps against Russia in response to the bounties.
Of the 20 Americans killed in combat in 2019, the Times said, it was not clear which deaths were under suspicion.
After nearly 20 years of fighting the Taliban, the United States is looking for a way to extricate itself from Afghanistan and to achieve peace between the US-backed government and the militant group, which controls swathes of the country.
On 29 February, the US and the Taliban struck a deal that called for a phased US troop withdrawal.
US troop strength in Afghanistan is down to nearly 8,600, well ahead of a schedule agreed with the Taliban, in part because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, US and Nato officials said in late May.
Reuters
David Rothkopf, a former official in the Clinton administration, has accused Donald Trump of "traitorous behaviour" over his apparent refusal to punish Russia over secret bounties offered to militants for the deaths of US troops in Afghanistan.
Brian Schatz, a Democratic senator for Hawaii, has tweeted about the "damning and shocking" New York Times story detailed below regarding Russian military personnel putting bounties on the heads of US service members in Afghanistan.
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