# Russia secretly offered bounties to kill US Soldiers **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 26, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291 "2020-06-26T23:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/41 "2020-06-28T21:38:47Z")
Heh, do they realize what [rt.com](http://rt.com) IS? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/42 "2020-06-28T21:45:00Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > This is going to shock you, but it seems that the President and others in his administration, when they denied knowing this information, seems to have been lying! > > [https://scontent.fphl2-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/105865840\_10163852788680597\_3447449546169988805\_n.jpg?\_nc\_cat=104&\_nc\_sid=8024bb&\_nc\_ohc=Qzx3mbvGfsUAX-9ju0q&\_nc\_ht=scontent.fphl2-3.fna&oh=dcfea50f6ab1ba8cc3755de59f3d7d56&oe=5F1DEF25](https://scontent.fphl2-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/105865840_10163852788680597_3447449546169988805_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=Qzx3mbvGfsUAX-9ju0q&_nc_ht=scontent.fphl2-3.fna&oh=dcfea50f6ab1ba8cc3755de59f3d7d56&oe=5F1DEF25) Holy shit! The Trump administration lied about something? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/43 "2020-06-28T21:46:33Z")
Super patriotic Trump supporters post literal Russian propaganda. It boggles the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/44 "2020-06-28T21:50:28Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > TRE45ON > > (Courtesy of The Lincoln Project) Yeah, that’s good. Occasionally I’ll use the sobriquet, “Benedict Donald”. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/45 "2020-06-28T21:51:24Z")
Id be worried that he would overreact and escalate the situation seriously. There are covert ways we can respond and keep plausible deniability. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/46 "2020-06-28T22:01:43Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Super patriotic Trump supporters post literal Russian propaganda. It boggles the mind Actually, the FB poster is anti-Trump, but pro-Tulsi/Bernie. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/47 "2020-06-28T22:02:02Z")
I didn’t know the Taliban needed to be paid a bounty to kill Americans. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/48 "2020-06-28T22:05:11Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Super patriotic Trump supporters post literal Russian propaganda. It boggles the mind. Better Red than Dem. 🇷🇺 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/49 "2020-06-28T22:35:09Z")
Ah, a Russian tool, instead. [Rt.com](http://Rt.com) makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/50 "2020-06-28T23:05:27Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Ah, a Russian tool, instead. [Rt.com](http://Rt.com) makes more sense Yes. Unfortunately, trying to refute the claims in the video is a fool’s game. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/51 "2020-06-29T00:21:25Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Heh, do they realize what [rt.com](http://rt.com) IS? It’s a news organization run by White People! Northern-European White People! So, all good! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/52 "2020-06-29T00:37:06Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > > [@snfaulkner](#): > > > > Heh, do they realize what [rt.com](http://rt.com) IS? > > It’s a news organization run by White People! Northern-European White People! > > So, all good!  Like I said, the FB poster is anti-Trump, but pro-Tulsi/Bernie. Thinks she has the inside track by following Russian sites (which she’s steered to). ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/53 "2020-06-29T13:17:13Z")
It’s one thing for Russia to wage a proxy war against the United States; it’s quite another to do it knowing that they’ve been able to manipulate their adversary’s head of state to the point that there’s little chance of retaliation. Quite a situation we’re now in. I’ve said this before, but I think we’re witnessing the irreversible decline of American power, which is not inherently a bad thing as I’m sure many of the countries we’ve screwed over the years would agree. Still, the decline will have consequences. One of those consequences is that our sovereignty will be tested, sometimes brazenly. Our political and economic systems continue to be remain open to foreign manipulation, particularly where the interests of a foreign clique merge with aristocratic interests here. Putin didn’t even have to fire a shot in anger against us. He just used our openness and our corruption against us. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/54 "2020-06-29T14:51:01Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > This would be the Taliban that the US funded to shoot Russians 30 years ago, would it? Times change and so do the sides. Given the way things turned out, I believe the US and Taliban were on the wrong side at the time. But now the former USSR / Russia is led by someone a lot more evil than the leader they had at that time and now they are on the wrong side. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/55 "2020-06-29T15:02:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I didn’t know the Taliban needed to be paid a bounty to kill Americans. Go figure From a purely practical standpoint it probably helps. Of course they want to kill the infidels, but when the infidels are better armed, the risks outweigh the benefits. Adding some cash as a reward for victory increases the likelihood they would risk losing on the battlefield. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/56 "2020-06-29T15:29:04Z")
Watch the movie Charlie Wilson’s War, it’s very good. It is a mostly true account of how the US secretly helped the Afghans push out the Soviets in the 80s. Stars Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The US sent Arab weapons captured by Israel to help the Afghans and Saudi Arabia helped with funding. ---
**Author:** ![TitsMcGee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/titsmcgee/32/3359_2.png) [@TitsMcGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TitsMcGee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/57 "2020-06-29T16:15:33Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I’ve said this before, but I think we’re witnessing the irreversible decline of American power, which is not inherently a bad thing as I’m sure many of the countries we’ve screwed over the years would agree. Still, the decline will have consequences. > > One of those consequences is that our sovereignty will be tested, sometimes brazenly. Our political and economic systems continue to be remain open to foreign manipulation, particularly where the interests of a foreign clique merge with aristocratic interests here. This is an interesting perspective and one which certainly fits events in the past decade or so. It is difficult to see a method by which that decline can be arrested, given the present polarization of American politics and the ease with which foreign powers can use our own systems against us. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/58 "2020-06-30T02:13:45Z")
[The vets themselves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuLfvL20aY) have weighed in. (Youtube) And they went there with the ‘T’ word. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/59 "2020-06-30T02:36:41Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I’ve said this before, but I think we’re witnessing the irreversible decline of American power, which is not inherently a bad thing as I’m sure many of the countries we’ve screwed over the years would agree. Still, the decline will have consequences. I told my daughter a month or so ago that she hasn’t lived in an America which wasn’t in decline. Born a month after 9/11, she agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/60 "2020-06-30T02:58:42Z")
Oh, dear. This just got a whole lot worse. > **[AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019](https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1)** > > Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U... Does Trump survive _this_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291.md?page=4)