# 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:** 5
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/81 "2020-07-01T05:35:01Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Maybe this will help them get back into the G7, eh? Chump will no doubt double down and demand even harder that they be readmitted. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/82 "2020-07-01T12:05:08Z")
Can you imagine what the outcry would have been if Obama had ignored similar intelligence? There would have been nonstop hearings for months on end. If Don the Con has time to golf and watch hours and hours of Fox “News” every day, he has time to read the daily briefings. If he was unaware of this, it’s because of his own laziness and incompetence. Yet as always, we find that there is still no depth of depravity so deep that the Republicans will not follow him blindly into. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/83 "2020-07-01T12:22:44Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > That’s right. Trump can’t ever admit fault. If he says ‘now that I know this, I demand a major investigation’ he is admitting that he failed to ‘know this’ even after multiple intelligence agencies and other nations ‘knew this.’ Russia put bounties on U.S.Soldiers, did you know that? Not everybody knows that. No one is tougher on Russia than I am, the fake news media tells you I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/84 "2020-07-01T12:25:52Z")
He may very well have been aware of this, even if he didn’t really understand it. But no way could he put pressure on Putin because Trump is so totally compromised. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/85 "2020-07-01T12:37:42Z")
That’s probably correct, which is what should concern everyone. There is no telling just how much of the store he and his administration have given away to Putin, and in so doing, by weakening ourselves for Putin, we’re also inviting challenges from China and other adversaries. Remember when Republicans were the ‘foreign policy’ party? Bwahhaaa…funny stuff. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/86 "2020-07-01T13:18:06Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Remember when Republicans were the ‘foreign policy’ party? Bwahhaaa…funny stuff I thought they were the “fiscal responsibility” party? (We could all use a good laugh these days.) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/87 "2020-07-01T13:19:19Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > If Trump, Putin, the Taliban, Trump’s stooge at DNI, and some jackass at Russia Times all deny something, can there be any doubt that it’s true? If that crew denies that the apocalypse is coming tomorrow, better pack your shit and watch for the horses. Damn - well put! What a world we are living in. And we brought it upon ourselves. Will really be interesting if enough people give a shit to do something about it starting this Nov. Or if ANY of the loyal Repub Congresscritters have the tiniest shred of decency left. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/88 "2020-07-01T15:10:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Can you imagine what the outcry would have been if Obama had ignored similar intelligence? Hell, can you imagine the outcry if anyone had suggested Obama didn’t read his PDBs? This whole corrupt, sordid “presidency” sickens me. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/89 "2020-07-01T15:23:12Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > > [@asahi](#): > > > > Remember when Republicans were the ‘foreign policy’ party? Bwahhaaa…funny stuff > > I thought they were the “fiscal responsibility” party? > > (We could all use a good laugh these days.) Let’s not forget “Family Values” and “Morality”. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/90 "2020-07-01T19:41:38Z")
> **[Russia did pay extremists to attack US soldiers in Afghanistan, according to...](https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-did-pay-extremists-attack-american-soldiers-taliban-sources-say-2020-7)** > > Two current Taliban officials and a former one told Insider that they know Russia funds some operations. They said Pakistan and Iran do the same. Taliban confirms some parts of the story. I’m seeing some very hard hitting ads from parents of soldiers killed and they want some answers. I’m not sure what the latest story is from the White House. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/91 "2020-07-01T19:45:24Z")
The latest story from the White House is “Lie, lie lie, and lie lie the lie, while lie lie lie.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/92 "2020-07-01T20:21:07Z")
Answers, yeah, like what was Trump’s cut? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/93 "2020-07-01T21:02:54Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Hell, can you imagine the outcry if anyone had suggested Obama didn’t read his PDBs? [There’s always a Tweet…](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/517045156826988544) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/94 "2020-07-01T21:08:33Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Taliban confirms some parts of the story. So does NATO. > Three NATO officials say they had been briefed on intelligence that Russian operatives were secretly offering cash bounties to Taliban-linked militants for US casualties in Afghanistan — as President Donald Trump claimed he was not, and dismissed news reports on the intelligence as a “possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax.” > > “We were briefed [by the Americans] on a potential threat to our troops in Afghanistan from operatives potentially linked to the Russian intelligence services,” one NATO military intelligence official told Insider on Monday. > > “There is no indication that our troops — or any non-US NATO troops — have been targeted in these attacks, but all NATO services with casualties in Afghanistan over the past two years are currently checking for any connections.” > > Two other NATO officials — who represent countries with troops who regularly support the NATO mission in Afghanistan — confirmed similar briefings. > > [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-bounty-us-soldiers-afghanistan-nato-officials-briefed-trump-denies-2020-6) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/95 "2020-07-01T22:46:23Z")
There was one quoted in the Times today who said he was upset about it, but he had always been a Republican and would still vote for Trump. My take on this is that Trump was briefed but wasn’t listening. I can imagine a cartoon showing an intelligence officer telling him about it while above his head is a cloud showing him thinking what a great president he has been. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/96 "2020-07-01T23:00:40Z")
[https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/politics/trump-intel-briefings-russia/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/politics/trump-intel-briefings-russia/index.html) > President [Donald Trump](https://www.google.com/search?q=donald+trump+cnn&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB899GB899&oq=donald+trump+cnn&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j46l2j0l2j69i60l3.2446j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)’s resistance to intelligence warnings about Russia led his national security team, including those who delivered the President’s Daily Brief to brief him verbally less often on Russia-related threats to the US, multiple former Trump administration officials who briefed Trump, were present for briefings and who prepared documents for his intelligence briefings tell CNN. > > Early in his term, Trump’s briefers discovered that when his oral briefing included intelligence related to Russia’s malign activities against the United States, including evidence of its interference in US politics, Trump would often blow up at them, demanding to know why they kept focusing on Russia and often questioning the intelligence itself, multiple former administration officials said. > > “The President has created an environment that dissuades, if not prohibits, the mentioning of any intelligence that isn’t favorable to Russia,” a former senior member of Trump’s national security staff told me. What a surprise. 🙄 ---
**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:** [July 1, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/97 "2020-07-01T23:06:15Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > That’s right. Trump can’t ever admit fault. If he says ‘now that I know this, I demand a major investigation’ he is admitting that he failed to ‘know this’ even after multiple intelligence agencies and other nations ‘knew this.’ > > Russia put bounties on U.S.Soldiers, did you know that? Not everybody knows that. No one is tougher on Russia than I am, the fake news media tells you I’m not. Pretty accurate-sounding. It’s meaningless to him. Donald can’t understand why anyone would care that his idol Putin paid money to those who’d kill American service members. It’s a complete mystery to him why this is a big deal. But his GOP enablers know. And each of them, when they come up for re-election, must have their feet held to the fire over this. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/98 "2020-07-02T00:10:33Z")
> ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/99 "2020-07-02T00:10:48Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > “Cornyn also defended Trump over his assertion that he was never briefed on the intelligence assessment, adding: “I think the president can’t single-handedly remember everything, I’m sure that he’s briefed on. But the intelligence officials are familiar with it, and briefed him.”” I have absolutely no problem believing that this is the actual truth. With the exception that “everything” should be replaced with “anything”. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/100 "2020-07-02T01:55:52Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > There’s always a Tweet… The first reply to that tweet is pure gold: > [@](#): > > this tweet aged like a bottle of Thunderbird in a skid row flophouse [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291.md?page=6)