Russian bounties for US troops in Afghanistan
How should the U.S. respond to reports that Russia paid bounties to Taliban militants to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan?
Listen 49:00Guests: Missy Ryan, Aaron O’Connell, Matthew Rojansky
Intelligence officials report that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. News reports say that President Trump was briefed early this year on the Russian effort but he denies any knowledge of it. Likewise, Russia denies the allegations. The intelligence report would have arrived while the White House was negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban that would allow them to pull troops out of Afghanistan. This hour, we’ll talk about the allegations, the impact on the U.S. military in Afghanistan, the Trump administration’s response, and if and how the U.S. should retaliate against Russia. Our guests are MISSY RYAN, a national security reporter for The Washington Post, AARON O’CONNELL, an associate history professor at University of Texas at Austin and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and MATTHEW ROJANSKY, director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.