Thread by @LuluLemew, Dec 2019The U.S. military’s combat casualties in Afghanistan were the highest in [...]

Dec 2019
The U.S. military’s combat casualties in Afghanistan were the highest in five years...

"The casualties are the highest since the mission to Afghanistan scaled down in 2015“

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/12/30/new-in-2020-army-combat-casualties-trend-upwards-into-2020/

Sept 2019:
“...peace negotiations between the Taliban and U.S. diplomats broke down after an uptick in Taliban violence prompted ... Trump to halt the talks.”

Nov 2019
Trump “said ...that the talks had resumed to some degree and promised an eventual U.S. withdrawal.”

March 2018
“Russia is supporting and even supplying arms to the Taliban,
the head of US forces in Afghanistan told the BBC.”

Oct 2019:
“Blue-Green” attacks
“We have many of them in Afghanistan in particular”

Always keep in the back of your mind —no matter what the situation:

Two Kremlin’s goals are:

1. break up NATO
2. Anti-Americanism —for decades since the Soviet days & driving everything Putin does now— try & turn the world against the US, make us look weak.

K? Moving on.

Dec 2016
‘Gen Nicholson criticized Russia & Iran for establishing links with the Taliban and "legitimizing" it...’

“...number of high-ranking US officials, mainly military, have made similar claims, some suggesting Russia is also arming the Taliban.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41842285

Oct 2017:
‘...Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee ...that he wanted to see more evidence about the level of Russian support for the Taliban, adding that what he had seen "doesn't make sense".’

A few provincial officials [in Afghanistan] have been explicit in alleging Moscow's military support for the Taliban.

Oct 2016:
“President Ashraf Ghani publicly taunted the Taliban for accepting Russian guns.”

“Moscow and the Taliban deny the US claims that they are working together.”

(When Russia denies it,

)

Ding ding ding:
“Russian officials and politicians have even implied that the US and NATO support IS in Afghanistan; a charge the US vehemently denies and most observers find incredible.”

“According to some Taliban sources, a communication channel between Moscow and the Taliban was established almost a decade ago, following the Taliban's removal from power by the US in 2001.”

[Cough]..purple⇣

‘...ties between Moscow and the Taliban have improved significantly over the past three years, especially since the establishment of the so-called "IS Khorasan" group in Afghanistan in January 2015.’

“Taliban sources confirm their representatives have met Russian officials inside Russia and "other" countries several times.”

Since 1948...

October 18, 2018
How a Taliban Assassin Got Close Enough to Kill a General https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/world/asia/taliban-attack-raziq-alliance.html?smid=tw-share

The Taliban assassin took out an Afghan general who was an 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 to the 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠.

After General Raziq’s assassination, rumors spread that it was the Americans who killed him.

The attack took place while Americans were meeting with Afghan officials to discuss security for upcoming Afghanistan elections.

The general seemed worried the day of the attack ...he had reports of threats but could not pin them down specifically.

Two Kalashnikovs

Assassin had someone on the inside

Dec. 14, 2019
KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 23 soldiers were killed while they were sleeping on Saturday in an insider attack in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest episode of enemy infiltration that has raised concerns
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/14/world/asia/afghanistan-soldiers-taliban.html

The Taliban infiltrator, who was on duty at a military base in Ghazni Province, opened fire on his colleagues, wiping out almost the whole unit, officials said.

The attacker then seized all weapons and equipment in the base and joined the insurgency.

This was the second deadly attack by an infiltrator in the Territorial Army in the Qara Bagh District of Ghazni.

July 2019
Col. Abdul Mobin Mohabati, the commander of the Afghan Army forces in the provinces, was killed by such an infiltrator.

Feb 2020:

After a meeting with key leaders Feb. 8 at military hq in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province, members of 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group were ready to leave, but helicopters supposed to ferry them out were delayed

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/02/14/insider-attack-on-7th-group-involved-two-anp-shooters/

As the troops waited, they were hit by M-249 light machine gun fire.

“One individual dressed in an Afghan Army uniform opened fire on the combined U.S. and Afghan force” with a M-249

‘Taliban officials have told Reuters that the group has had significant contacts with Moscow since at least 2007, adding that Russian involvement did not extend beyond “moral and political support.”’

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-russia-idUSKBN16U234

Russia may be helping supply Taliban insurgents: U.S. general

The top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-russia-idUSKBN16U234

Oct 2018
“As Russia has increased its profile, there have been allegations.. from senior U.S. officials ... the Kremlin has provided small arms to the Taliban, or at least tolerated a supply of Russian weapons to the militants from Central Asia.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/10/12/feature/behind-the-scenes-russia-regains-a-complicated-status-afghanistan-power-broker/

The Kremlin wants a role in Afghanistan 30 years after the Soviet withdrawal

Russia’s return comes as U.S. struggles to reverse a Taliban resurgence

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/10/12/feature/behind-the-scenes-russia-regains-a-complicated-status-afghanistan-power-broker/

NEW: Spies and Commandos Warned Months Ago of Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops

The recovery of large amounts of American cash at a Taliban outpost in Afghanistan tipped off U.S. officials. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/politics/russian-bounties-warnings-trump.html?smid=tw-share

Spies and Commandos Warned Months Ago of Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops

The recovery of large amounts of American cash at a Taliban outpost in Afghanistan helped tip off U.S. officials.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/politics/russian-bounties-warnings-trump.html?smid=tw-share

US “intelligence officers and Special Ops forces in Afghanistan alerted their superiors as early as 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘 to a suspected Russian plot to pay bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan, according to officials briefed on the matter.”

"The crucial information that led the spies and commandos to focus on the bounties included the recovery of a large amount of American cash from a raid on a Taliban outpost that prompted suspicions."

Another official:
Interrogations of captured militants and criminals played a central role in making the intelligence community confident in its assessment that the Russians had offered and paid bounties 𝐈𝐍 "

"...military and intelligence officials have been reviewing American and other coalition combat casualties since early last year to determine whether any were victims of the plot."

"Four Americans were killed in combat in early 2020, but the Taliban have not attacked American positions since a February agreement to end the long-running war in Afghanistan."

"One official said that the seizure of a large amount of American cash at one Taliban site got “everybody’s attention” in Afghanistan. It was not clear when the money was recovered."

"Two officials said the information about the bounty hunting was “well-known” among the intelligence community in Afghanistan, including the C.I.A.’s chief of station and other top officials there, like the military commandos hunting the Taliban."

"Pelosi said that if the president had not, in fact, been briefed, then the country should be concerned that his administration was afraid to share with him information regarding Russia..."

Pelosi said that the episode underscored Trump’s accommodating stance toward Russia and that with him, “all roads lead to Putin.”

“This is as bad as it gets, and yet the president will not confront the Russians on this score, denies being briefed,” Pelosi said. “Whether he is or not, his administration knows, and some of our allies who work with us in Afghanistan have been briefed and accept this report.”

Bolton:

Reminder
https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1277298555565346816?s=21 https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1277298555565346816

https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1277298555565346816?s=21

I’m just leaving this here
https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1277295496105807873?s=21 https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1277295496105807873

https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1277295496105807873?s=21

https://twitter.com/zachsdorfman/status/1277351618392911872?s=21 https://twitter.com/zachsdorfman/status/1277351618392911872

https://twitter.com/zachsdorfman/status/1277351618392911872?s=21

Some Soviet history

[DIE: (Directia Informatii Externe)
predecessor to the SIE
Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Service]

Soviet agents of influence in the Islamic world #history

Seeding.

Back to the present....

Russian bounties offered to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan are believed to have resulted in the deaths of several U.S. service members...