# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/101 "2020-07-02T06:41:20Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > [There’s always a Tweet…](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/517045156826988544) Scroll down that tweet thread a ways, and there’s a new gem of a video that Lincoln Project recently put out. Parody of a Russian propaganda video exclaiming how grand and wise Comrade Putin is to be Trump’s greatest endorser! All in Russian with English sub-titles. Here it is on YouTube: [Fellow Traveler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUBAAeuBpPQ). Senegoid sez Check It Out! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/102 "2020-07-02T12:42:40Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > 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. Reminds me of a cartoon I recall from the 80s. Showed a young Reagan gleefully riding a bike w/ his hands off the handlebars, captioned something like “A young Reagan practicing his hands-off approach.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/103 "2020-07-02T15:41:45Z")
[The questions we should be asking about the Russian bounties on US troops](https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-russia-afghanistan-bounty-ivo-daalder-20200701-6refvhaawfcyppjkisio4fskom-story.html) > It no longer matters when Trump was told about this. Now that he knows, he must make clear that this behavior will not stand. America, and the world, is watching to see whether he will. Odds? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/104 "2020-07-02T15:52:20Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Odds? Zero. Despite what appears to be mounting evidence that this really did occur, he’s going to keep going with “it’s a hoax, Russia says it didn’t happen.” ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/105 "2020-07-02T15:54:16Z")
Funny, that’s exactly what I would have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/106 "2020-07-02T16:36:38Z")
:church lady voice: _Putin?_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/107 "2020-07-03T22:24:54Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > But how did he get into the White House in the first place? Who gave the drunken chimpanzee the keys to the corvette? The Republicans had set up a system to steal the election for somebody like Jeb Bush and Donald Trump hijacked it for himself. It’s a common blindspot for crooked types. They always think about who they’re conning and they never think about the possibility that they will be the victim of a con. ---
**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 3, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/108 "2020-07-03T23:26:18Z")
That works too perfectly well. Eeeuuggghhh. ---
**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 4, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/109 "2020-07-04T13:32:17Z")
Yes, the Republicans and voter suppression is a thing, but let’s not ignore that a lot of people in our democracy are dangerously uninformed and that there are consequences for that, which are evident beyond democratic participation. Our collective response to COVID, for instance - not just the leadership’s but that of the citizenry - has been a disaster. We’re a society that thinks in terms of rights but, on a wider scale, we do not seem to understand basic civic responsibilities, and this is evident by both our democratic participation and response to pandemics. Electing Biden probably won’t change that either. There are deep systemic problems that are exerting intense pressures on our identity as a democratic republic. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/110 "2020-07-04T16:48:07Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > > It no longer matters when Trump was told about this. Now that he knows, he must make clear that this behavior will not stand. America, and the world, is watching to see whether he will. > > Odds? Zero. Trump is focused on starting a race war, and showing support for statues of dead traitors. Dead traitor statues are more important to him than live Americans. ---
**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 4, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/111 "2020-07-04T16:54:07Z")
I’m surprised he doesn’t prefer traitors who don’t die. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/112 "2020-07-04T17:00:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I’m surprised he doesn’t prefer traitors who don’t die He’s probably not aware they are dead. “Not many people know that Robert Lee is actually dead. Nobody knew that!” ---
**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 4, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/113 "2020-07-04T19:21:05Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Electing Biden probably won’t change that either. There are deep systemic problems that are exerting intense pressures on our identity as a democratic republic. I think Biden will help because maybe maybe we start to acknowledge these problems. The GOP and especially Trump operate a gaslighting playbook that these things are not even problems. Which makes it easy: If the pandemic is a hoax, why address it? If climate change is a conspiracy, why address it? If racism was cured because we had a black president, it must be over! He may not come up with the most robust solutions and maybe won’t do enough. But he’ll get the ball rolling which is considerably better than the ball rolling in the wrong direction entirely. ---
**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 4, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/114 "2020-07-04T19:44:44Z")
He will absolutely help - no doubt about that, and sorry if I wasn’t clear. No, Biden is a necessary first step, absolutely. I’m just reminded of how in 2008, when we were dealing with the financial crisis, the failures of Hurricane Katrina and the two foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama presidency represented an opportunity to be a turning point, and yet at the end of that 8-year period, we ended up with not much to show for it other than gridlock and increasing polarization and distrust of institutions and each other. I blame Americans collectively, not so much Obama. We’re here again at an even more important turning point, in a situation that’s even more dire than in 2008 and the stakes going to be even higher. It’ll be important to understand that if Biden wins, it’ll be only the start of a long process of rebuilding. ---
**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 4, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/115 "2020-07-04T19:47:40Z")
I think you’re selling Obama’s accomplishments short: He did enough for “our side” that the other side went full racist and brought in Trump who has spent all his time trying to erase everything he did. Obviously they feel he did some things that they feel are worth erasing. But that’s another thread. ---
**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 4, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291/116 "2020-07-04T19:54:40Z")
Oh, I absolutely agree: Obama did what he could. I think he’s unfortunately underrated and under-appreciated. Some people on the left and in the center grew frustrated with him, feeling that the economy didn’t grow fast enough during his term. The reality is that he was blocked at every turn after 2010, and even before then when blue dog Dems voted to undercut the public option in the ACA. But yes, another thread - back to Trump and Russia. God, if this were any other president in most any other era, he’d be looking at calls for resignation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-secretly-offered-bounties-to-kill-us-soldiers/913291.md?page=5)