NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona, called for an investigation into President Donald Trump’s handling of intelligence reports that Russia offered bounties for murdering U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
Kelly said the president must answer for the allegations, which, if true, represent a significant escalation in the challenges the U.S. has had with Russia in the Middle East.
Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot, told The Arizona Republic this week the United States must determine who authorized the bounties, determine their motivations, and then evaluate the reportedly differing views by American intelligence agencies about the information.
“We can’t allow the Russian intelligence agency to take these kinds of actions and then as a nation not respond,” he said. “We’ve got to have the backs of our troops, especially when they are in a combat theater.”
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Kelly’s comments come as Trump escalates his divisive rhetoric ahead of the November election.
This report that the administration has had no response to Russia putting a bounty on the lives of American soldiers in Afghanistan is just staggering. As a combat veteran, I can’t imagine how this could go without a response. We need answers. https://t.co/bXtkbW5Imk
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) June 27, 2020
