Top Pentagon Officials: We Are Yet ‘Unable to Corroborate’ Report on Russian Bounty Scheme | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire, and written by Tim Pearce.

    The U.S. Intelligence Community has yet to corroborate reports of a Russian bounty killing scheme targeting American soldiers.

    Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday to testify over the alleged Russian operation. The senior administration officials told lawmakers that the bounty scheme has not been confirmed or connected to the deaths of any US troops.

    "All the defense intelligence agencies have been unable to corroborate that report," Esper told the committee, according to ABC News.

    "As of today, right now, we don't have cause and effect linkages to a Russian bounty program causing U.S. Military casualties," Milley said. "However, we are still looking. We're not done. We're going to run this thing to ground."

    "If it is bounties, I am outraged, just like every one of us in uniform is," Milley continued, promising retribution if such a program is found to exist. "If these bounties are directed by the government of Russia to kill American soldiers, that is a big deal. We don't have that level of fidelity yet. We are still looking."

    The New York Times originally reported the alleged Russian bounty scheme in a June 26 article that claimed President Trump was briefed on the matter earlier in the year. In a subsequent report, the newspaper backed off that claim and reported that information on the alleged Russian bounty scheme was included in a written briefing to the president in February.

    In a July 3 report, the NYT noted that the operation, if it exists, was likely not approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, though lower-level officials may have pushed the operation forward without his knowing.

    "There is no evidence to date that Mr. Putin signed off on any program to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even independent experts say they strongly doubt he would have done so," the NYT reported.

    The White House, Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have all said that the alleged bribery scheme is still being investigated.

    Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who heads U.S. Central Command, said Tuesday he had heard reports that Russian agents were offering members of the Afghan terror group the Taliban payment in exchange for the lives of troops from the U.S. and its allies.

    "I found it very worrisome," McKenzie said of the reports. "I didn't find that there was a causative link there" between the alleged bounty program and the killings of any U.S. troops.

    "We should always remember, the Russians are not our friends," McKenzie continued, noting that Moscow has been a supplier of money and weapons to the Taliban in the past. "And they do not wish us well, and we just need to remember that at all times when we evaluate that intelligence."
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Bodycam Footage Released of Critical Shooting of Black Man After Mental Health Crisis Call Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Governor Signs Senate Bill 232 into Law


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US
Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.
University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration

HbAD1

Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024
Biden spending and energy policies to blame
Tuberculosis carried by illegal invaders has already infected Texas cattle
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said this week that the only campaign promise President Joe Biden has delivered on as president is the complete dismantling of the U.S. southern border.
Hamas is reeling after losing two of their most cherished leaders on the same day: military commander Saleh al-Arouri, and Harvard President Claudine Gay.
President Joe Biden’s brother told the Internal Revenue Service that Hunter Biden told him he was in business with a “protege of President Xi,” referring to the leader of China, according to notes by an IRS investigator that were divulged during a congressional interview of Jim Biden.
Gov. Roy Cooper seeks a temporary restraining order to block a law changing the composition of the State Board of Elections.
X owner Elon Musk mocked a news segment from ABC News this week that promoted President Joe Biden’s talking points about the Democrat-led Senate’s failed border bill, which critics and many experts have said would make the situation on the border worse.

HbAD2

 
Back to Top