On Thursday Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed that he had been briefed on information regarding Russian payments to the Taliban, seemingly acknowledging that Russia’s bounties on U.S. troops are not a “hoax” as President Donald Trump has claimed, CNN reports.
Esper also said he has not seen intelligence that corroborates claims that American troops were killed as a result of the “bounty” payments, walking a delicate line between acknowledging a well-known threat and potentially clashing with the President.
Esper’s remarks came during a long-awaited appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, where lawmakers had their first opportunity to ask the defense secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about their knowledge of intelligence on Russia offering bounties to the Taliban for killing US troops in Afghanistan.
The Defense Secretary went on to tell lawmakers that he had seen intelligence about Russian payments to the Taliban in February but added that his top generals did not believe those initial reports were credible at the time, a claim that appears to clash with comments made by one of those commanders on Tuesday, who called the reports “very worrisome.”
CNN pointed out that “while that distinction does not explicitly address lingering questions about the exact nature of the intelligence cited in recent reports or explain the Trump administration’s seemingly muted response to concerns about Russia’s support for the Taliban, it does undercut the President’s claim that the issue is simply a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.”
