How Russia Built a Channel to the Taliban, Once an Enemy

[Zorro]

The recent assessment that Russia paid bounties to the insurgents to attack U.S. troops stunned many, but officials said the Kremlin’s outreach began almost a decade ago.

During one of the most violent stretches of fighting in northern Afghanistan, as the Taliban scored victories that had eluded them since the beginning of the conflict, the top American commander went public with a suspicion that had nagged for years: Russia was aiding the insurgents.

In diplomatic circles in Kabul around the time of that accusation, in 2017, there were murmurs that the Russian assistance had included night-vision goggles and armor-piercing ammunition.

But Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander, offered no definitive evidence, and that spoke to how confusing the battlefield had become as three longtime adversaries — the Taliban, Russia and Iran — agreed on their common interest in seeing the Americans leave Afghanistan. In the maze of corruption, cash and foreign hands in Afghanistan, it was no easy task to pin down who was doing what.

“We’ve had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and said, ‘This was given by the Russians to the Taliban,’” General Nicholson said a year later. “We know that the Russians are involved.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/world/asia/russia-taliban-afghanistan.html

[Champp]

1. k and r

You never know. Maybe there is a Republican out there who actually gives a shit about our troops, and will take action.

It could happen. Maybe. Slim chance.

[lagomorph777]

2. Glad to see Pay For Slay making a headline.

I don't know why there's any other story on the media right now besides:

(1) Pay For Slay #1: Putin pays Taliban to kill our troops. Trump gives tacit approval every day.
(2) Pay For Slay #2: Putin pays Trump to kill all Americans, using COVID. Trump does everything he can to kill us (no mask-wearing, no Defense Production Act, blocking testing).