Russian bounties placed on US soldiers led to deaths

[DMX7]

I really don't understand why this is becoming such a big deal. Even if true, what were we supposed to do? Nuke the Kremlin?

And it's got nothing to do with defending Trump. It's supposed to be a surprise that Russia doesn't have our best interests at heart?

Are you serious? You don’t think a foreign government paying bounties to kill our troops is a big deal?

[DMX7]

https://twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720?s=19

No denial that the allegations are true is extremely damning. In fact, this is very damning. Esper must be trying to save his job but he inadvertently made things worse. :wow

[ElNono]

No denial that the allegations are true is extremely damning. In fact, this is very damning. Esper must be trying to save his job but he inadvertently made things worse. :wow

To be fair, this is the kind of CYA damage control one would expect, especially if the intel isn't confirmed, tbh...

What else is Esper supposed to do, other than reassure the troops?

[IronMexican]

I believe this could be true, but who fucking cares. I feel noo sympathy for anyone who goes to the middle east and dies.

Imagine giving medals of honor to killers and being mad at what another country is doing.

[clambake]

Imagine giving medals of honor to killers and being mad at what another country is doing.

Solid take ironmexican

[IronMexican]

16>1

[midnightpulp]

No denial that the allegations are true is extremely damning. In fact, this is very damning. Esper must be trying to save his job but he inadvertently made things worse. :wow

:lol. Don't know why anyone would believe the statement of one of Trump's handpicked lackeys. And this was already corroborated by British Intelligence.


British security officials have confirmed to Sky News that the reports about the plot are true.

https://news.sky.com/story/russia-paid-taliban-fighters-to-attack-british-troops-in-afghanistan-12016425

Trump can't "win" here. Either he wasn't briefed and him and his administration look dangerously incompetent, or he failed to act on threats to American soldiers out of either complacency, apathy, or he is beholden to Russia in some way. That said, I agree with hater in a sense that this is a "nothingburger," because it'll be considered a nothingburger by his idiot base and Trump yes men, which are basically the entire Republican party. Doubt this controversy shifts his approval rating and polling, while the actual nothingburger of Bengazi sank Hillary.

[Spurtacular]

Nope, it's still there.

You're happy about Pelosi being in power. :lol

[ChumpDumper]

You're happy about Pelosi being in power. :lolSure. She triggers you and Trump pretty completely.:lol

[Spurtacular]

:lol. Don't know why anyone would believe the statement of one of Trump's handpicked lackeys. And this was already corroborated by British Intelligence.



https://news.sky.com/story/russia-paid-taliban-fighters-to-attack-british-troops-in-afghanistan-12016425

Trump can't "win" here. Either he wasn't briefed and him and his administration look dangerously incompetent, or he failed to act on threats to American soldiers out of either complacency, apathy, or he is beholden to Russia in some way. That said, I agree with hater in a sense that this is a "nothingburger," because it'll be considered a nothingburger by his idiot base and Trump yes men, which are basically the entire Republican party. Doubt this controversy shifts his approval rating and polling, while the actual nothingburger of Bengazi sank Hillary.

CIA Times with "sources".

If you think it's a "big deal" don't vote for Biden. He's a warhawk's puppet dream.

[Spurtacular]

Sure

At least you're owning your support of corrupt politicians.

[ChumpDumper]

At least you're owning your support of corrupt politicians.Meh, you support Trump.

[Spurtacular]

Meh, you support Trump.

:cry Muh whatboutism :cry

[ChumpDumper]

:cry Muh whatboutism :cryYou didn't deny he's corrupt.:lol

[Spurtacular]

You didn't deny he's corrupt.:lol

You don't care who is corrupt in Washington. Let's be honest, cherp.

[ChumpDumper]

You don't care who is corrupt in Washington. Let's be honest, cherp.You certainly don't.:lol

[hater]

I believe this could be true, but who fucking cares. I feel noo sympathy for anyone who goes to the middle east and dies.

Imagine giving medals of honor to killers and being mad at what another country is doing.

Unless you go there and fight on the secular sides and against jihadi barbarians tbqh

[hater]

:lol. Don't know why anyone would believe the statement of one of Trump's handpicked lackeys. And this was already corroborated by British Intelligence.



https://news.sky.com/story/russia-paid-taliban-fighters-to-attack-british-troops-in-afghanistan-12016425

Trump can't "win" here. Either he wasn't briefed and him and his administration look dangerously incompetent, or he failed to act on threats to American soldiers out of either complacency, apathy, or he is beholden to Russia in some way. That said, I agree with hater in a sense that this is a "nothingburger," because it'll be considered a nothingburger by his idiot base and Trump yes men, which are basically the entire Republican party. Doubt this controversy shifts his approval rating and polling, while the actual nothingburger of Bengazi sank Hillary.

The same british intelligence that wrote the russia Urine dossier :lol

[Brazil]

16>1

:lol solid take tbh

[RandomGuy]

I believe this could be true, but who fucking cares. I feel noo sympathy for anyone who goes to the middle east and dies.

Imagine giving medals of honor to killers and being mad at what another country is doing.

Pretty much.

Fuck the asshats who say they "support the troops" but still back the traitor piece of shit "president" who let Russia not only get away with it, but lobbied to give Russia a seat at the G7

[Sheriff Hoyt]

1278332940896866304

[RandomGuy]

You're happy about Pelosi being in power. :lol

Pelosi is awesome. I would vote for her if I could. I would donate money, but she is fine. I save that for vulnerable Republican senators, and my local Democratic politicians.

[Sheriff Hoyt]

1278333271869399041

[hater]

1278332940896866304

Zero evidence. Anonymous sauces

zzzzz boring

[pgardn]

You don't care who is corrupt in Washington. Let's be honest, cherp.

so as long as the corruption and pathological lying comes from orange man you’re OK

[Spurtacular]

Pelosi is awesome. I would vote for her if I could. I would donate money, but she is fine. I save that for vulnerable Republican senators, and my local Democratic politicians.

They all support cucks' rights. You got to do what you got to do.
You bend the knee yet?

[RandomGuy]

cucks'

:lmao

[Spurtacular]

:lmao

You bend the knee yet?

[TSA]

:lol. Don't know why anyone would believe the statement of one of Trump's handpicked lackeys. And this was already corroborated by British Intelligence.



https://news.sky.com/story/russia-paid-taliban-fighters-to-attack-british-troops-in-afghanistan-12016425

Trump can't "win" here. Either he wasn't briefed and him and his administration look dangerously incompetent, or he failed to act on threats to American soldiers out of either complacency, apathy, or he is beholden to Russia in some way. That said, I agree with hater in a sense that this is a "nothingburger," because it'll be considered a nothingburger by his idiot base and Trump yes men, which are basically the entire Republican party. Doubt this controversy shifts his approval rating and polling, while the actual nothingburger of Bengazi sank Hillary.womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240

[spurraider21]

womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240
Anonymous sources conclusive now

edit: Robert O'Brien is not anonymous

mea culpa

[hater]

womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240

Called it :tu

:lmao Russia hoaxers

[TSA]

Anonymous sources conclusive now

NSA Robert O’Brien tells reporters

[spurraider21]

NSA Robert O’Brien tells reporters
whoops :lol

my eye caught the "career intel officer"

[boutons_deux]

The only people dismissing the Russia bounties intel:

The Taliban, Russia and Trump

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/01/only-people-who-are-dismissing-russia-bounties-intel-taliban-russia-trump/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/01/only-people-who-are-dismissing-russia-bounties-intel-taliban-russia-trump/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most)

[TSA]

whoops :lol

my eye caught the "career intel reporter"

womp womp

[TSA]

The most ironic thing about all of this is that whoever leaked is the one who could have actually put our troops in harms way.

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2020-press-releases-statements/statement-on-impact-of-unauthorized-disclosures-on-force-protection.html

[Spurtacular]

The most ironic thing about all of this is that whoever leaked is the one who could have actually put our troops in harms way.

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2020-press-releases-statements/statement-on-impact-of-unauthorized-disclosures-on-force-protection.html

The ironic thing is that you think that this leak wasn't coordinated at the highest levels by the CIA.

Grow up. The CIA is not your friend.

[DMC]

whoops :lol

my eye caught the "career intel officer"
You have this tendency to have knee-jerk responses that require mea culpa statement shortly thereafter. You should never get into politics. Maybe if you weren't so hard-up for a W.

[DMX7]

I believe this could be true, but who fucking cares. I feel noo sympathy for anyone who goes to the middle east and dies.

Imagine giving medals of honor to killers and being mad at what another country is doing.

It’s the elected representatives that decide where the troops go to battle, not the troops themselves

[spurraider21]

You have this tendency to have knee-jerk responses that require mea culpa statement shortly thereafter. You should never get into politics. Maybe if you weren't so hard-up for a W.
:cry

[ChumpDumper]

womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240Trump administration story version 9.0

[ChumpDumper]

You have this tendency to have knee-jerk responses that require mea culpa statement shortly thereafter. You should never get into politics. Maybe if you weren't so hard-up for a W.It's a message board. Relax.

[hater]

It’s the elected representatives that decide where the troops go to battle, not the troops themselves

Its no mistery to a person joining the army tgat they will be sent to shitholes to shoot up civilians. We been doing it for decades.

[spurraider21]

It's a message board. Relax.
this just in: message board behavior might not always translate to real life

[ChumpDumper]

this just in: message board behavior might not always translate to real lifeWHATEVER KNEE JERK ATTORNEY

[RandomGuy]

You bend the knee yet?

I don't even know what the fuck this means. What are you gibbering about here?

[RandomGuy]

womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240

We will get to find out exactly what Trump knew or should have known in those briefs when he loses in November. Expect the next four years to be one leak of Trump malfeasance after another, carrying well over into 2024. the fascist party will be on the defensive over this shit for the rest of my life.

Have fun playing defense for all the things you don't know about yet. :lol

[ElNono]

The ironic thing is that you think that this leak wasn't coordinated at the highest levels by the CIA.

Grow up. The CIA is not your friend.

Isn't Gina the torturer still running the CIA?

[spurraider21]

Isn't Gina the torturer still running the CIA?
Have you seen The Report with Adam Driver?

[ElNono]

Have you seen The Report with Adam Driver?

nope

[spurraider21]

nope
its a prime original, i'd check it out. good stuff and fairly historically accurate as well

[pgardn]

You have this tendency to have knee-jerk responses that require mea culpa statement shortly thereafter. You should never get into politics. Maybe if you weren't so hard-up for a W.

Says the guy who gets shot out of the air, lands on his head, and then states he is fine.
fckn liar.

[TSA]

https://mobile.twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278396454978162688

[hater]

:lmao :lmao holy shit what an epic fail by NY Lies and Bullshington Compost

:lmao cnn quiet as a mouse on the subject today. Went back to covering Covid and how a 27 year old got infected by going yo the gym :lmao :lmao

[hater]

In other words this thread is going to die a very painful death :lmao

Called it :tu

:lmao

[TSA]

:lmao :lmao holy shit what an epic fail by NY Lies and Bullshington Compost

:lmao cnn quiet as a mouse on the subject today. Went back to covering Covid and how a 27 year old got infected by going yo the gym :lmao :lmao

Nope...I caught Tapper today while eating lunch and he was still trying to spin the Russian bounty story :lol

[RandomGuy]

womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240

So Russia really did offer bounties on US troops? and paid them?

[TSA]

So Russia really did offer bounties on US troops? and paid them?

What part of the CIA officer didn’t have confidence in the intelligence are you having trouble understanding?

And more from Sec of Def

https://mobile.twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720

You fell for more Russia bullshit from the NYT, again.

[RandomGuy]

What part of the CIA officer didn’t have confidence in the intelligence are you having trouble understanding?

And more from Sec of Def

https://mobile.twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720

You fell for more Russia bullshit from the NYT, again.

So the DOD doesn't know.

But the CIA does?

[RandomGuy]

American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before, analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/us/politics/russian-bounties-afghanistan-intelligence.html

[ChumpDumper]

What part of the CIA officer didn’t have confidence in the intelligence are you having trouble understanding?

And more from Sec of Def

https://mobile.twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720

You fell for more Russia bullshit from the NYT, again.You fell for the deflection from the written PDB.

"Muh Trump don't read no briefs" will be your fallback.

[RandomGuy]

Investigators also identified by name numerous Afghans in a network linked to the suspected Russian operation, the officials said — including, two of them added, a man believed to have served as an intermediary for distributing some of the funds and who is now thought to be in Russia.

The intercepts bolstered the findings gleaned from the interrogations, helping reduce an earlier disagreement among intelligence analysts and agencies over the reliability of the detainees. The disclosures further undercut White House officials’ claim that the intelligence was too uncertain to brief President Trump. In fact, the information was provided to him in his daily written brief in late February, two officials have said.

[RandomGuy]

You fell for the deflection from the PDB.

PDB?

[RandomGuy]

What part of the CIA officer didn’t have confidence in the intelligence are you having trouble understanding?

And more from Sec of Def

https://mobile.twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720

You fell for more Russia bullshit from the NYT, again.


Afghan officials this week described a sequence of events that dovetailed with the account of the intelligence. They said that several businessmen who transfer money through the informal “hawala” system were arrested in Afghanistan over the past six months and were suspected of being part of a ring of middlemen who operated between the Russian intelligence agency, known as the G.R.U., and Taliban-linked militants. The businessmen were arrested in what the officials described as sweeping raids in the north of Afghanistan as well as in Kabul.

So the afghans were in on it too. DUN DUN DUN.

[SnakeBoy]

I can't wait for President Biden to give the Pootin a stern talking to

[RandomGuy]

I can't wait for President Biden to give the Pootin a stern talking to

He definitely won't be arguing for Russia to be in the G7 between golf outings. or pulling troops out of German to make Putin happy, stupid mother fucker.

Trump defense on Russian bounty story falls flat, even with Republicans
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-defense-on-russian-bounty-story-falls-flat-even-with-republicans-234205365.html

But for now... Trump is still president.

What the fuck is your party leader going to do about it now?

[hombre]

His party leader is going to attack the whistleblowers instead of standing up to Putin like a man. Weak president.

[TSA]

His party leader is going to attack the whistleblowers instead of standing up to Putin like a man. Weak president.

:lol whistleblowers

[hater]

I can't wait for President Biden to give the Pootin a stern talking to

He will challenge him to a push up battle

[hater]

:lol whistleblowers

El hombre es menso

[Sheriff Hoyt]

1278488772229947395

[hater]

^ NYT wrote it so it must be true :lmao

[Sheriff Hoyt]

1278489081228427264

[Spurtacular]

I don't even know what the fuck this means. What are you gibbering about here?

If you don't know what it means, you don't belong on this forum.

You bend the knee yet?

[TSA]

^ NYT wrote it so it must be true :lmao

Is their 3rd or 4th attempt? :lol

[DMC]

Says the guy who gets shot out of the air, lands on his head, and then states he is fine.
fckn liar.
You did nothing of the sort, weirdo. I called you right out and you balked and whistled and kicked and grunted. Talk more about PhD headhunters and Time magazine, Asperger's boy.

[DMC]

What part of the CIA officer didn’t have confidence in the intelligence are you having trouble understanding?

And more from Sec of Def

https://mobile.twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720

You fell for more Russia bullshit from the NYT, again.

Well based on the ciphering that Jethro did, there has to be a certain ratio of truth to any falsehood, so Jethro is taking that as a sign and is willing to go to the mat with it.

[hombre]

:lol whistleblowers

Here you go buddy, please read this and think about it - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/202004/true-false-believers-the-psychology-conspiracy-theories

Trump was briefed Feb. 27, 2020. The United States of America has the best intelligence and their briefs that make it to the President's desk are extremely vetted and the gold standard. Russia paid $100,000 per dead U.S. soldier. Trump did nothing.

Trump is traitor.

[Nbadan]

Lol at the NYTimes for saving the receipts

[IronMexican]

It’s the elected representatives that decide where the troops go to battle, not the troops themselves

It's also their choice to enlist in the first place. I know some of them get suckered in, but the majority don't. I have a cousin now who wants to enlist for the sole reason of going to war. Why, he came out so fucking stupid, idk

[IronMexican]

He will challenge him to a push up battle

:lol

You're a dog faced pony soldier, hater, as well as a hater, hater. Just let him shill for Israel like he's done for decades and get his nice little legacy that he's felt entitled to since probably some time in the 80's.

[midnightpulp]

womp womp

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278335352734986240

Remember, "hand picked lackeys." Yeah, O'Brien is going to be real objective here especially after the Bolton debacle.


President Trump appointed O'Brien to succeed John Bolton. And...

When many other intelligence officials who had been involved in briefing Trump on national security characterized Trump as inattentive, O'Brien disputed the characterization, saying Trump was "laser-focused on the issues at hand and asks probing questions throughout the briefings — it reminds me of appearing before a well-prepared appellate judge and defending the case."

Hmm. Seems like a Trump ass kisser through and through. But I'm sure he's the lone voice of truth while everyone else who worked for the moron describes him as exactly that.

This is exactly why I referenced British intelligence (something outside of our partisan shit flinging and decrying every news source that has a liberal slant as "fake news") and the ensuing reporting to cut through the he said/she said. If the British were briefed, then it sure as hell stands to reason Trump was briefed. British intel also further confirmed the same plot against their troops. So are the British also a deep state actor out to hurt Lord Trump?

You're a guy who likes to dig deeper and find patterns to tease out supposed motives and reasons. You might ask so "why would the NSA and the Trump admin want to hide something like this? Makes no sense? It wouldn't cost him anything politically." Because of this:


On February 29, 2020, the Trump administration signed a conditional peace agreement with the Taliban,

Trump would look mighty foolish and or incompetent cutting a peace deal with a regime that is still killing US soldiers. I won't even invoke all the smoke with regard to Trump's alleged Russian ties (i.e. his past dealings over there trying to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow. You don't do any deals over there without first going through the mafia and then maybe Putin).

Ultimately, though, this does come down to he said/she said. The NSA, headed by a Trump sycophant, is the only 3 letter intelligence agency that is disputing things.


The National Security Agency (NSA) has "strongly dissented" from the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency assessments that the bounty plot is credible and real.[29]


“This is the same scapegoating play that the White House ran in the coronavirus context – blaming Trump’s intelligence briefer for something that is chiefly and fundamentally a failing of the White House staff,” said Ned Price, a former CIA analyst and national security spokesman.


He added: “We now know that the information was included in Trump’s written PDB, which is how the intelligence community regularly flags items that the President needs to know. Nothing in the PDB is discretionary; everything in that short document is in there because – in the estimation of the intelligence community – the president needs to know it to fulfill his charge.”

Intelligence experts have also pointed out that intelligence routinely briefed to the president is rarely “verified”, but presented with varying degrees of confidence.

To be fair, Price is a never Trumper. But I'll offer this:


Douglas London:

I think it's reasonable to assume that the president and the White House is going to try to change the narrative on this.

Leaks are a great danger. They compromise sources. But think about the topic we're speaking to. We're speaking to bounties. So if the Taliban or the Russians wanted bounties, that means they want people to know that there's an incentive and award for killing Americans, even if the Russians were disguising their hand.

While I don't condone leaks, under the circumstances, and I could imagine those who provided the information felt a bit of frustration that, having informed principals and the president of the threat from Russian incentives, financial incentives, and the dismissal of that intelligence, some of those folks might have felt that they and their comrades were being placed in harm's way by an administration that wasn't as concerned for their interests as much as their own political interests.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-career-cia-officer-on-russian-bounty-intelligence-and-possible-leaks

And you'll see in that link that the White House is pivoting with the same "Deep State" and "rogue" trigger words as they've always done anytime Dear Leader is under fire. That's propaganda 101. Lie, deflect, play the victim, repeat ad nauseam.


According to Adolf Hitler, "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over."

Deep state, fake news, hoax, deep state, fake news, hoax, etc, etc, etc. Lord Trump even tried this with Covid ("a democratic hoax to sink the economy and ruin his election chances."). Sorry, Trump nor his administration are the trustworthy ones every time some controversy surrounds his presidency. Going back to Covid, I have no clue how people can continue to believe anything he says when he was saying, "Covid no biggie. Stock market looking up!" (while Republican senators were selling off stock) with his propaganda arm on Fox News echoing his statements.

That said, though, we're just shit flinging at the end of the day. Even if this story was 100 percent ultra verified, I doubt it would win many Biden voters or Trump defectors. I get that. They hate/fear liberals so much, it doesn't matter what Trump does as long as he stacks the courts with conservative judges and abides by the core conservative tenets of tax cuts for the rich, promotion of Christian values (whether lip serviced or real), and a hard line immigration stance. I'm the same way on the other side. It would take Biden killing a child with his bare hands for me to no-vote (I would never vote for a piece of dogshit like Trump). This is the state of American politics today. Compromise with the other side of the aisle is over.

Of course, I'll blame the right for refusing to compromise. The right consistently uses the slippery-slope fallacy to rebuke ANY proposed reform to one of their core beliefs. A few proposed tweaks to gun control leads to wholesale gun grabbing. More taxes on the rich leads to Soviet Russia. Universe healthcare also leads to Soviet Russia. A more lax immigration policy (i.e. the Ellis Island model perhaps) leads to totally open borders with drug dealers and terrorists entering by the millions and raping all the women and children. That's the Fox News rhetorical strategy in a nutshell, which has thus become the conservative rhetorical strategy in a nutshell.

[pgardn]

You did nothing of the sort, weirdo. I called you right out and you balked and whistled and kicked and grunted. Talk more about PhD headhunters and Time magazine, Asperger's boy.

you have retreated into silly lying tactics like the fools you try to protect

you chose to defend theoldren and spurtac

So you drop to their level of bs
You want to make yourself a stupid target, that’s fine.
Learn to live with getting your teeth kicked in old man.

What was the title of your piece submitted to Time Magazine and what was the subject? You know, the one that was heavily edited that gives you superior insight into MSM

[RandomGuy]

His party leader is going to attack the whistleblowers instead of standing up to Putin like a man. Weak president.

Attack whistleblowers and fire inspectors general that might keep his scummy paws from corrupting everything he touches. Watching our country decay in front of us sucks.

[boutons_deux]

Attack whistleblowers and fire inspectors general that might keep his scummy paws from corrupting everything he touches. Watching our country decay in front of us sucks.

And not one Repug has the balls to stand up and criticize Trash.

Trash is a symptom, the culmination of decades Repug crapification of itself and USA, not the cause.

[RandomGuy]

Remember, "hand picked lackeys." Yeah, O'Brien is going to be real objective here especially after the Bolton debacle.



Hmm. Seems like a Trump ass kisser through and through. But I'm sure he's the lone voice of truth while everyone else who worked for the moron describes him as exactly that.

This is exactly why I referenced British intelligence (something outside of our partisan shit flinging and decrying every news source that has a liberal slant as "fake news") and the ensuing reporting to cut through the he said/she said. If the British were briefed, then it sure as hell stands to reason Trump was briefed. British intel also further confirmed the same plot against their troops. So are the British also a deep state actor out to hurt Lord Trump?

You're a guy who likes to dig deeper and find patterns to tease out supposed motives and reasons. You might ask so "why would the NSA and the Trump admin want to hide something like this? Makes no sense? It wouldn't cost him anything politically." Because of this:



Trump would look mighty foolish and or incompetent cutting a peace deal with a regime that is still killing US soldiers. I won't even invoke all the smoke with regard to Trump's alleged Russian ties (i.e. his past dealings over there trying to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow. You don't do any deals over there without first going through the mafia and then maybe Putin).

Ultimately, though, this does come down to he said/she said. The NSA, headed by a Trump sycophant, is the only 3 letter intelligence agency that is disputing things.





To be fair, Price is a never Trumper. But I'll offer this:



https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-career-cia-officer-on-russian-bounty-intelligence-and-possible-leaks

And you'll see in that link that the White House is pivoting with the same "Deep State" and "rogue" trigger words as they've always done anytime Dear Leader is under fire. That's propaganda 101. Lie, deflect, play the victim, repeat ad nauseam.



Deep state, fake news, hoax, deep state, fake news, hoax, etc, etc, etc. Lord Trump even tried this with Covid ("a democratic hoax to sink the economy and ruin his election chances."). Sorry, Trump nor his administration are the trustworthy ones every time some controversy surrounds his presidency. Going back to Covid, I have no clue how people can continue to believe anything he says when he was saying, "Covid no biggie. Stock market looking up!" (while Republican senators were selling off stock) with his propaganda arm on Fox News echoing his statements.

That said, though, we're just shit flinging at the end of the day. Even if this story was 100 percent ultra verified, I doubt it would win many Biden voters or Trump defectors. I get that. They hate/fear liberals so much, it doesn't matter what Trump does as long as he stacks the courts with conservative judges and abides by the core conservative tenets of tax cuts for the rich, promotion of Christian values (whether lip serviced or real), and a hard line immigration stance. I'm the same way on the other side. It would take Biden killing a child with his bare hands for me to no-vote (I would never vote for a piece of dogshit like Trump). This is the state of American politics today. Compromise with the other side of the aisle is over.

Of course, I'll blame the right for refusing to compromise. The right consistently uses the slippery-slope fallacy to rebuke ANY proposed reform to one of their core beliefs. A few proposed tweaks to gun control leads to wholesale gun grabbing. More taxes on the rich leads to Soviet Russia. Universe healthcare also leads to Soviet Russia. A more lax immigration policy (i.e. the Ellis Island model perhaps) leads to totally open borders with drug dealers and terrorists entering by the millions and raping all the women and children. That's the Fox News rhetorical strategy in a nutshell, which has thus become the conservative rhetorical strategy in a nutshell.

Solid post and well done. To which, I'm sure, you will get more deflection or simple outright dismissal.

As a veteran, it seems pretty clear that you can either "support the troops" or "support Trump". This makes that an either/or proposition.

I am absolutely livid that nothing is being done, other than making excuses for Dear Leader. I said a long time ago this shit is approaching the status of a cult, and shares many characteristics. We are there now.

[RandomGuy]

And not one Repug has the balls to stand up and criticize Trash.

Trash is a symptom, the culmination of decades Repug crapification of itself and USA, not the cause.


Yup. Which is why that party needs to be rhetorically burned to the ground, and hopefully something built form the ashes that approaches sane, evidence-based, leadership. Won't happen because of the religious nutters though.

[RandomGuy]

And not one Repug has the balls to stand up and criticize Trash.

Trash is a symptom, the culmination of decades Repug crapification of itself and USA, not the cause.


Yup. Which is why that party needs to be rhetorically burned to the ground, and hopefully something built form the ashes that approaches sane, evidence-based, leadership. Won't happen because of the religious nutters though.

[RandomGuy]

I can't wait for President Biden to give the Pootin a stern talking to




He definitely won't be arguing for Russia to be in the G7 between golf outings. or pulling troops out of German to make Putin happy, stupid mother fucker.

Trump defense on Russian bounty story falls flat, even with Republicans
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-defense-on-russian-bounty-story-falls-flat-even-with-republicans-234205365.html

But for now... Trump is still president.

What the fuck is your party leader going to do about it now?

[Crickets]

Yeah, that's what I thought, you cowardly turd. Run the fuck way the way you always do when your side steps in dogshit.

[RandomGuy]

If you don't know what it means, you don't belong on this forum.

You bend the knee yet?

(shrugs) I asked for specific clarification, you declined. I am honestly not entirely sure exactly what you mean.

Don't expect an answer until you deign to actually say what you mean for once.

[Spurtacular]

(shrugs) I asked for specific clarification, you declined. I am honestly not entirely sure exactly what you mean.

Don't expect an answer until you deign to actually say what you mean for once.

Did you bend the knee to BLM yet?

[TSA]

Remember, "hand picked lackeys." Yeah, O'Brien is going to be real objective here especially after the Bolton debacle.



Hmm. Seems like a Trump ass kisser through and through. But I'm sure he's the lone voice of truth while everyone else who worked for the moron describes him as exactly that.

This is exactly why I referenced British intelligence (something outside of our partisan shit flinging and decrying every news source that has a liberal slant as "fake news") and the ensuing reporting to cut through the he said/she said. If the British were briefed, then it sure as hell stands to reason Trump was briefed. British intel also further confirmed the same plot against their troops. So are the British also a deep state actor out to hurt Lord Trump?

You're a guy who likes to dig deeper and find patterns to tease out supposed motives and reasons. You might ask so "why would the NSA and the Trump admin want to hide something like this? Makes no sense? It wouldn't cost him anything politically." Because of this:



Trump would look mighty foolish and or incompetent cutting a peace deal with a regime that is still killing US soldiers. I won't even invoke all the smoke with regard to Trump's alleged Russian ties (i.e. his past dealings over there trying to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow. You don't do any deals over there without first going through the mafia and then maybe Putin).

Ultimately, though, this does come down to he said/she said. The NSA, headed by a Trump sycophant, is the only 3 letter intelligence agency that is disputing things.





To be fair, Price is a never Trumper. But I'll offer this:



https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-career-cia-officer-on-russian-bounty-intelligence-and-possible-leaks

And you'll see in that link that the White House is pivoting with the same "Deep State" and "rogue" trigger words as they've always done anytime Dear Leader is under fire. That's propaganda 101. Lie, deflect, play the victim, repeat ad nauseam.



Deep state, fake news, hoax, deep state, fake news, hoax, etc, etc, etc. Lord Trump even tried this with Covid ("a democratic hoax to sink the economy and ruin his election chances."). Sorry, Trump nor his administration are the trustworthy ones every time some controversy surrounds his presidency. Going back to Covid, I have no clue how people can continue to believe anything he says when he was saying, "Covid no biggie. Stock market looking up!" (while Republican senators were selling off stock) with his propaganda arm on Fox News echoing his statements.

That said, though, we're just shit flinging at the end of the day. Even if this story was 100 percent ultra verified, I doubt it would win many Biden voters or Trump defectors. I get that. They hate/fear liberals so much, it doesn't matter what Trump does as long as he stacks the courts with conservative judges and abides by the core conservative tenets of tax cuts for the rich, promotion of Christian values (whether lip serviced or real), and a hard line immigration stance. I'm the same way on the other side. It would take Biden killing a child with his bare hands for me to no-vote (I would never vote for a piece of dogshit like Trump). This is the state of American politics today. Compromise with the other side of the aisle is over.

Of course, I'll blame the right for refusing to compromise. The right consistently uses the slippery-slope fallacy to rebuke ANY proposed reform to one of their core beliefs. A few proposed tweaks to gun control leads to wholesale gun grabbing. More taxes on the rich leads to Soviet Russia. Universe healthcare also leads to Soviet Russia. A more lax immigration policy (i.e. the Ellis Island model perhaps) leads to totally open borders with drug dealers and terrorists entering by the millions and raping all the women and children. That's the Fox News rhetorical strategy in a nutshell, which has thus become the conservative rhetorical strategy in a nutshell.

You need to go back and read the initial NYT story that claimed Trump was briefed on this, that is what this has all been about. It's obvious by the above you aren't very well informed on the topic. O'Brien isn't the head of the NSA, that would be Paul Nakasone. Nakasone's NSA dissented from assesments that the bounty plot was credible, not O'Brien. O'Brien is a National Security Advisor (NSA) who said a career CIA intel officer decided not to brief Trump because she wasn't confident in the intelligence. There was never a denial that intelligence was picked up, Trump wasn't briefed because the intelligence wasn't corroborated. The intelligence being shared with the British doesn't prove anything, it's just what the CIA does concerning preliminary force protection information.


Today, CIA Director Gina Haspel released the following statement:

“When developing intelligence assessments, initial tactical reports often require additional collection and validation. In general, preliminary Force Protection information is shared throughout the national security community—and with U.S. allies—as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of coalition forces overseas. Leaks compromise and disrupt the critical interagency work to collect, assess, and ascribe culpability.

Hostile states’ use of proxies in war zones to inflict damage on U.S. interests and troops is a constant, longstanding concern. CIA will continue to pursue every lead; analyze the information we collect with critical, objective eyes; and brief reliable intelligence to protect U.S. forces deployed around the world.”

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2020-press-releases-statements/statement-on-impact-of-unauthorized-disclosures-on-force-protection.html

And the NSA isn't the only 3 letter agency disputing the Times reporting :lol


https://twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1278144740471582720

https://twitter.com/ODNIgov/status/1277079117964468225

https://twitter.com/ODNIgov/status/1277772961483759616

https://twitter.com/WHNSC/status/1277804151033004032

[ChumpDumper]

:lol no mention at all of the written daily brief.

That's all the confirmation I need tbh.

[hater]

:lol no mention at all of the written daily brief.

That's all the confirmation I need tbh.

Lol strawman

[ChumpDumper]

Lol strawmanExactly right. Their strawman is verbal briefings.

[TSA]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1278737300604817408

https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1278691253329297408

[ChumpDumper]

:lol version 11.0

[RandomGuy]

[tappity tappity]

:spin:spin:spin:spin:spin:spin:spin:spin:spin:spin

[RandomGuy]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1278737300604817408

https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1278691253329297408

So basically what you are saying is that people who know the damage Russia is doing, and trying to do to the US are trying to stop Trump from helping Putin do it?

That's your play. :lol

Trump acts more like an asset with ever day he says nothing.

[TSA]

So basically what you are saying is that people who know the damage Russia is doing, and trying to do to the US are trying to stop Trump from helping Putin do it?

That's your play. :lol

Trump acts more like an asset with ever day he says nothing.

Which people are you saying know for a fact that Russia was paying bounties? Be specific. Schiff obviously wasn’t concerned.

[SnakeBoy]

[Crickets]

Yeah, that's what I thought, you cowardly turd. Run the fuck way the way you always do when your side steps in dogshit.

I was going to answer you but I thought I should wait a while for your manic episode to calm. Then I forgot about you, sorry bout that. Seems your still in a manic state tho.

What is your official diagnosis? I'm guessing bipolar depression amirite?

[RandomGuy]

I was going to answer you but I thought I should wait a while for your manic episode to calm. Then I forgot about you, sorry bout that. Seems your still in a manic state tho.

What is your official diagnosis? I'm guessing bipolar depression amirite?

Easier to go on a personal attack than answer an uncomfortable question, I guess. Deflect and spin.

[RandomGuy]

...

[TSA]

So basically what you are saying is that people who know the damage Russia is doing, and trying to do to the US are trying to stop Trump from helping Putin do it?

That's your play. :lol

Trump acts more like an asset with ever day he says nothing.


Which people are you saying know for a fact that Russia was paying bounties? Be specific. Schiff obviously wasn't concerned.

[Crickets]

Yeah, that's what I thought, you cowardly turd. Run the fuck way the way you always do when your side steps in dogshit.

[ChumpDumper]

TSA moves the goalpost.:lol

[boutons_deux]

https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/105603021_612600986035804_9146452785133980275_n.jp g?_nc_cat=109&_nc_sid=1480c5&_nc_ohc=m5ODZICUb_sAX_G9Ju-&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=bd37093b28d6fd94bc2404ef47a17e0b&oe=5F23E016

[midnightpulp]

Trump wasn't briefed because the intelligence wasn't corroborated.

Yes, according to his handpicked officials. Feel free to believe that if you want.


the Trump administration announced Ratcliffe as one of the congressional members of his impeachment team.

President Trump announced the appointment of Esper as Acting Secretary of Defense on June 18, 2019, after Acting Secretary Patrick Shanahan decided to withdraw his nomination.[3]


The intelligence being shared with the British doesn't prove anything

Neither of us can prove anything here. We're both doing speculation and trying to deduce what happened. I believe it stands to reason if the British knew, then Trump knew, as well.

So we're back to he said/she said. Trump and his administration of handpicked lackeys has zero credibility with me, so I'm going to believe the anon leakers over any "official" word from the White House. We have to ask why Trump has never been hard on Putin? Here's a dictator who annexed a sovereign territory, was kicked out of the G8 because of it, and yet Trump is urging for Russia's return to the G8 and basically fellates Putin any chance he gets. Then, yeah, there's the issue of the troop withdrawal from Germany. Why? Trump, his admin, and the fanboys will claim it's because he's trying to reduce our military presence around the world and pressure our allies to pay more for their own defense, and I do agree with that, but why Germany first and not Italy, the UK, Japan? Oh:

https://www.businessinsider.com/pulling-us-troops-out-of-germany-a-posible-russia-win-2020-6
https://republicans-armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/US%20Troops%20Withrdrawal%20from%20Germany.pdf


At his meeting with Duda, Trump also questioned why the US is "supposed to defend Germany from Russia" and said German citizens are not happy about the situation.

I await some spin like this, and a claim of Trump is "doing the right thing!"


"Germany's delinquent, they've been delinquent for years," Trump told reporters at the White House. “They owe NATO billions of dollars and they have to pay it.”

Under NATO rules, countries have committed to spend at least 2 percent of their annual defense budgets on the alliance. Germany has not yet reached that goal. The country did spend 1.36 percent of its gross domestic product on the NATO allianc in 2019, though, because of its size, the country spends more on its military than its European neighbors.

"See, Trump is holding them accountable!"

Then why no troop withdrawal from Italy, the UK, Japan (I know they're not in NATO), and such who are well below the 2 percent of GDP on defense as required by Dear Leader?

*As of 2015. The UK has fallen below the mark now. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164231651351617536/photo/1

There's just too much circumstantial smoke here to not think there might be a fire raging underneath with regard to Trump and Russia. And my thoughts here is that when it comes down to he said/she said scenario, where neither side has definitive proof, the side with the most circumstantial evidence in its corner is likely to be right (of course we can't convict this way in a court-of-law). Boiled down. Trump was briefed. He didn't act because he's soft on Russia. Him being soft on Russia is illustrated by his general attitude toward Russia, his recent inviting them to the G7 (when every other member was against it), and his troop withdrawal from Germany first.

And I also think this recent article illustrates the bounty threat was probably credible. Russia has been funding and equipping the Taliban for years.


While the Kremlin maintains that its relationship with the Taliban is limited only to fighting ISKP and reconciliation within Afghanistan, its activities go much deeper. Russia has been accused of funding and arming the Taliban. Russian night vision sniper scopes have been discovered in the hands of the Taliban. In 2017, Gen. John Nicholson, then-commander of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, revealed in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that Russia was actively funding the Taliban and therefore, by proxy, al Qaeda. In 2018, Nicholson followed that up by stating, “We’ve had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and [they] said, ‘This was given by the Russians to the Taliban.’”

Perhaps more alarming are reports that Russia is funneling resources into Afghanistan that can be sold for profit by the Taliban. This includes shipping fuel tankers from Uzbekistan through the Hairatan border crossing, where they are delivered to Taliban front companies that sell fuel worth $2.5 million per month. The Taliban distribute the money directly to their commanders to use and launch attacks against the Afghan government, forces, and civilians.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/01/russia-afghansitan-united-states-bountygate/

SMOKE

Not an illogical leap to conclude they were also paying bounties.

Same goes for any Democrat. If the Schiff story has legs (lol Federalist, though), investigate his ass, too.

[midnightpulp]

Which people are you saying know for a fact that Russia was paying bounties? Be specific. Schiff obviously wasn’t concerned.

Unfair question. You for sure know that intelligence operatives can't disclose their identities. Trump tried this play, too. "The anonymous leak needs to come forward!" So what we're left with is "official" word from administration yes men who are trying to run cover.


WASHINGTON — The CIA knew. The State Department knew. Senior congressional officials and the British government were briefed.

So how could it be that nobody told the president?

White House officials offered a new wrinkle Wednesday in their explanation of why President Donald Trump wasn't informed about intelligence collected this year that suggested that the Russians were paying the Taliban to kill Americans, even though officials in both the U.S. and the U.K. were aware of the reporting.


But intelligence is almost always "unverified." And the idea that a career government bureaucrat unilaterally decided to keep Trump out of the loop on the Russian bounty matter — even though he was in regular phone contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin — isn't credible, current and former national security officials said.

And maybe he wasn't briefed. But it's for different reasons than you might think.


Critics suggested a troubling scenario. "I believe ... his staff was afraid to tell him about it for fear he would erupt and do something damaging, like calling Putin and tipping him off," said Jeffrey Smith, a former general counsel to the CIA.

The national security team often strategizes long and hard before the Oval Office sessions about what and what not to say, current and former officials said, because team members know certain subjects can provoke an eruption that will send things off the rails.

:lmao

And I believe that is indeed "credible." He's a fuckin' manchild.

[TSA]

Yes, according to his handpicked officials. Feel free to believe that if you want.






Neither of us can prove anything here. We're both doing speculation and trying to deduce what happened. I believe it stands to reason if the British knew, then Trump knew, as well.

So we're back to he said/she said. Trump and his administration of handpicked lackeys has zero credibility with me, so I'm going to believe the anon leakers over any "official" word from the White House. We have to ask why Trump has never been hard on Putin? Here's a dictator who annexed a sovereign territory, was kicked out of the G8 because of it, and yet Trump is urging for Russia's return to the G8 and basically fellates Putin any chance he gets. Then, yeah, there's the issue of the troop withdrawal from Germany. Why? Trump, his admin, and the fanboys will claim it's because he's trying to reduce our military presence around the world and pressure our allies to pay more for their own defense, and I do agree with that, but why Germany first and not Italy, the UK, Japan? Oh:

https://www.businessinsider.com/pulling-us-troops-out-of-germany-a-posible-russia-win-2020-6
https://republicans-armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/US%20Troops%20Withrdrawal%20from%20Germany.pdf



I await some spin like this, and a claim of Trump is "doing the right thing!"



"See, Trump is holding them accountable!"

Then why no troop withdrawal from Italy, the UK, Japan (I know they're not in NATO), and such who are well below the 2 percent of GDP on defense as required by Dear Leader?

*As of 2015. The UK has fallen below the mark now. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164231651351617536/photo/1

There's just too much circumstantial smoke here to not think there might be a fire raging underneath with regard to Trump and Russia. And my thoughts here is that when it comes down to he said/she said scenario, where neither side has definitive proof, the side with the most circumstantial evidence in its corner is likely to be right (of course we can't convict this way in a court-of-law). Boiled down. Trump was briefed. He didn't act because he's soft on Russia. Him being soft on Russia is illustrated by his general attitude toward Russia, his recent inviting them to the G7 (when every other member was against it), and his troop withdrawal from Germany first.

And I also think this recent article illustrates the bounty threat was probably credible. Russia has been funding and equipping the Taliban for years.



https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/01/russia-afghansitan-united-states-bountygate/

SMOKE

Not an illogical leap to conclude they were also paying bounties.

Same goes for any Democrat. If the Schiff story has legs (lol Federalist, though), investigate his ass, too.

You say Trump and his administration have no zero credibility and then believe the NYT and its sources who completely shit the bed with their three+ years of Russiagate stories. That’s as funny as how you ignored everything you got wrong I pointed out. Will discuss more later and will leave you with this for now.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278853312893386752

[ChumpDumper]

You say Trump and his administration have no zero credibility and then believe the NYT and its sources who completely shit the bed with their three+ years of Russiagate stories. That’s as funny as how you ignored everything you got wrong I pointed out. Will discuss more later and will leave you with this for now.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278853312893386752Further confirmation it was in the written PDB.:lol

[boutons_deux]

https://images.dailykos.com/images/826126/story_image/1494ckCOMICrussianbounty.png?1593531870

[boutons_deux]

Russian bounties were the subject of police raids six months ago,

as more details continue to emerge

It’s now clear that the program has been in place for over a year (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/30/1957109/-Russian-bounty-story-keeps-growing-Trump-has-known-for-over-a-year-was-fully-briefed-by-Bolton), and that

Trump was personally briefed on the threat by John Bolton in March of 2019.

If that wasn’t enough, the program was also featured in subsequent daily briefs,

including on February 27 (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/29/1957006/-Source-says-Trump-given-brief-on-Russian-bounties-weeks-ago-but-may-not-have-bothered-to-read-it) when Trump had a tough schedule that included

meeting with the actors (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/1/1957404/-The-day-Trump-was-briefed-on-Russian-bounties-he-was-more-interested-in-a-play-about-the-Deep-State) behind the play FBI Lovebirds. :lol

the one fairly consistent claim from the White House has been that the information was “unconfirmed” and

didn’t rise to the level of taking action.

However, it’s obvious that this is untrue.

The information was highly regarded enough to form the basis of changes to tactics on the ground in Afghanistan (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/1/1957451/-Nothing-to-see-here-Just-Mike-Pompeo-talking-to-the-Russians-about-how-to-handle-the-Russian-threat), and

it has proven laughably easy to confirm the transfer of money between Russia and Taliban militants (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/30/1957220/-The-New-York-Times-has-the-receipts-Russia-shipped-money-to-Taliban-for-bounties-on-American-troops).

Russia made these payments on multiple occasions and that

a series of raids and arrests were made in chasing down the middlemen of the Russia scheme.

And this wasn’t something that happened in the last week—it happened over six months ago.

one of the raids that happened at the end of 2019 involved Rahmatullah Azizi,

a man who started as a drug smuggler, then skimmed money as a U.S. contractor in Afghanistan,

before becoming a conduit between Russia and the Taliban.

Azizi was able to evade those raids—though he left behind half a million in cash—

and is suspected to be in hiding. In Russia.

there are briefings that go back over a year,

detective work that put together the way money was making it

from Russia to the Taliban, raids and arrests that happened six months ago, and

tactical changes to Afghan operations made in the knowledge of Russian actions.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/2/1957711/-Trump-s-attempt-to-play-off-Russian-bounties-as-a-hoax-are-crumbling-in-the-face-of-more-details?detail=emaildkre (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/2/1957711/-Trump-s-attempt-to-play-off-Russian-bounties-as-a-hoax-are-crumbling-in-the-face-of-more-details?detail=emaildkre)

[boutons_deux]

https://www.cdn-liker.com/uploads/large_images/5eff283d5cb57.jpg

[midnightpulp]

You say Trump and his administration have no zero credibility and then believe the NYT and its sources who completely shit the bed with their three+ years of Russiagate stories. That’s as funny as how you ignored everything you got wrong I pointed out. Will discuss more later and will leave you with this for now.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1278853312893386752

What did I get wrong? Your counter is citing official word from Trump lackeys. Doesn't hold water with me. You might say, ":lol dismissing info from people you don't like. Great counterargument." Same exact play from the Trump acolytes. They "deep state" everything and anything that is negative toward Dear Leader.

Your video also isn't convincing because it is, once again, speculation. She is "speculating" he didn't get the brief because "it happens sometimes." So yes, he said/she said. I believe the NYT over the Trump administration. How many straight lies has that admin told so far? Now they are wantonly endangering American citizens by holding rallies and celebrations by not strictly enforcing social distancing and masks. I don't see how anyone, right or left, finds that acceptable. Freedumbs, right? So yes, I find this administration immoral. And immoral people lie through their fuckin' teeth all the time.

(And Mueller never exonerated Trump).

This story is dead anyway. It won't convince the base. Even if the base had 100 percent confirmed evidence of it, it still wouldn't convince them to abandon their demi-god. Expect Trump's approval rating to be the exact same in two weeks. So meh.

[boutons_deux]

https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p350x350/106611334_3319114341444260_2578295082846003264_n.j pg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_sid=dbeb18&_nc_ohc=bPHlsx5LyC0AX89qElr&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&_nc_tp=6&oh=f42eb11607c5dd7228a8101058437394&oe=5F27FBC0

[boutons_deux]

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[boutons_deux]

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[TSA]

What did I get wrong? Your counter is citing official word from Trump lackeys. Doesn't hold water with me. You might say, ":lol dismissing info from people you don't like. Great counterargument." Same exact play from the Trump acolytes. They "deep state" everything and anything that is negative toward Dear Leader.

Your video also isn't convincing because it is, once again, speculation. She is "speculating" he didn't get the brief because "it happens sometimes." So yes, he said/she said. I believe the NYT over the Trump administration. How many straight lies has that admin told so far? Now they are wantonly endangering American citizens by holding rallies and celebrations by not strictly enforcing social distancing and masks. I don't see how anyone, right or left, finds that acceptable. Freedumbs, right? So yes, I find this administration immoral. And immoral people lie through their fuckin' teeth all the time.

(And Mueller never exonerated Trump).

This story is dead anyway. It won't convince the base. Even if the base had 100 percent confirmed evidence of it, it still wouldn't convince them to abandon their demi-god. Expect Trump's approval rating to be the exact same in two weeks. So meh.
womp womp

How the Pentagon failed to sell Afghan government’s bunk ‘Bountygate’ story to US intelligence agencies

Another New York Times Russiagate bombshell turns out to be a dud, as dodgy stories spun out by Afghan intelligence and exploited by the Pentagon ultimately failed to convince US intelligence agencies.

The New York Times dropped another Russiagate bombshell on June 26 with a sensational front-page story headlined, “Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says.” A predictable media and political frenzy followed, reviving the anti-Russian hysteria that has excited the Beltway establishment for the past four years.

But a closer look at the reporting by the Times and other mainstream outlets vying to confirm its coverage reveals another scandal not unlike Russiagate itself: the core elements of the story appear to have been fabricated by Afghan government intelligence to derail a potential US troop withdrawal from the country. And they were leaked to the Times and other outlets by US national security state officials who shared an agenda with their Afghan allies.

In the days following the story’s publication, the maneuvers of the Afghan regime and US national security bureaucracy encountered an unexpected political obstacle: US intelligence agencies began offering a series of low confidence assessments in the Afghan government’s self-interested intelligence claims, judging them to be highly suspect at best, and altogether bogus at worst.

In light of this dramatic development, the Times’ initial report appears to have been the product of a sensationalistic disinformation dump aimed at prolonging the failed Afghan war in the face of President Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw US troops from it.

The Times quietly reveals its own sources’ falsehoods

The Times not only broke the Bountygate story but commissioned squads of reporters comprising nine different correspondents to write eight articles hyping the supposed scandal in the course of eight days. Its coverage displayed the paper’s usual habit of regurgitating bits of dubious information furnished to its correspondents by faceless national security sources. In the days after the Times’ dramatic publication, its correspondent squads were forced to revise the story line to correct an account that ultimately turned out to be false on practically every important point.

The Bountygate saga began on June 26, with a Times report declaring, “The United States concluded months ago” that the Russians “had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks last year.” The report suggested that US intelligence analysts had reached a firm conclusion on Russian bounties as early as January. A follow-up Times report portrayed the shocking discovery of the lurid Russian plot thanks to the recovery of a large amount of U.S. cash from a “raid on a Taliban outpost.” That article sourced its claim to the interrogations of “captured Afghan militants and criminals.”

However, subsequent reporting revealed that the “US intelligence reports” about a Russian plot to distribute bounties through Afghan middlemen were not generated by US intelligence at all.

The Times reported first on June 28, then again on June 30, that a large amount of cash found at a “Taliban outpost” or a “Taliban site” had led U.S. intelligence to suspect the Russian plot. But the Times had to walk that claim back, revealing on July 1 that the raid that turned up $500,000 in cash had in fact targeted the Kabul home of Rahmatullah Azizi, an Afghan businessmen said to have been involved in both drug trafficking and contracting for part of the billions of dollars the United States spent on construction projects.

The Times also disclosed that the information provided by “captured militants and criminals” under “interrogation” had been the main source of suspicion of a Russian bounty scheme in Afghanistan. But those “militants and criminals” turned out to be thirteen relatives and business associates of the businessman whose house was raided.

The Times reported that those detainees were arrested and interrogated following the January 2020 raids based on suspicions by Afghan intelligence that they belonged to a “ring of middlemen” operating between the Russian GRU and so-called “Taliban-linked militants,” as Afghan sources made clear.

Furthermore, contrary to the initial report by the Times, those raids had actually been carried out exclusively by the Afghan intelligence service known as the National Directorate of Security (NDS). The Times disclosed this on July 1. Indeed, the interrogation of those detained in the raids was carried out by the NDS, which explains why the Times reporting referred repeatedly to “interrogations” without ever explaining who actually did the questioning.

Given the notorious record of the NDS, it must be assumed that its interrogators used torture or at least the threat of it to obtain accounts from the detainees that would support the Afghan government’s narrative. Both the Toronto Globe and Mail and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have documented as recently as 2019 the frequent use of torture by the NDS to obtain information from detainees. The primary objective of the NDS was to establish an air of plausibility around the claim that the fugitive businessman Azizi was the main “middleman” for a purported GRU scheme to offer bounties for killing Americans.

NDS clearly fashioned its story to suit the sensibilities of the U.S. national security state. The narrative echoed previous intelligence reports about Russian bounties in Afghanistan that circulated in early 2019, and which were even discussed at NSC meetings. Nothing was done about these reports, however, because nothing had been confirmed.

The idea that hardcore Taliban fighters needed or wanted foreign money to kill American invaders could have been dismissed on its face. So Afghan officials spun out claims that Russian bounties were paid to incentivize violence by “militants and criminals” supposedly “linked” to the Taliban.

These elements zeroed in on the April 2019 IED attack on a vehicle near the U.S. military base at Bagram in Parwan province that killed three US Marines, insisting that the Taliban had paid local criminal networks in the region to carry out attacks.

As former Parwan police chief Gen. Zaman Mamozai told the Times, Taliban commanders were based in only two of the province’s ten districts, forcing them to depend on a wider network of non-Taliban killers-for-hire to carry out attacks elsewhere in the province. These areas included the region around Bagram, according to the Afghan government’s argument.

But Dr. Thomas H. Johnson of the Naval Postgraduate School, a leading expert on insurgency and counter-insurgency in Afghanistan who has been researching war in the country for three decades, dismissed the idea that the Taliban would need a criminal network to operate effectively in Parwan.

“The Taliban are all over Parwan,” Johnson stated in an interview with The Grayzone, observing that its fighters had repeatedly carried out attacks on or near the Bagram base throughout the war.

With withdrawal looming, the national security state plays its Bountygate card

Senior U.S. national security officials had clear ulterior motives for embracing the dubious NDS narrative. More than anything, those officials were determined to scuttle Trump’s push for a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. For Pentagon brass and civilian leadership, the fear of withdrawal became more acute in early 2020 as Trump began to demand an even more rapid timetable for a complete pullout than the 12-14 months being negotiated with the Taliban.

It was little surprise then that this element leapt at the opportunity to exploit the self-interested claims by the Afghan NDS to serve its own agenda, especially as the November election loomed. The Times even cited one “senior [US] official” musing that “the evidence about Russia could have threatened that [Afghanistan] deal, because it suggested that after eighteen year of war, Mr. Trump was letting Russia chase the last American troops out of the country.”

In fact, the intelligence reporting from the CIA Station in Kabul on the NDS Russia bounty claims was included in the Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) on or about February 27 — just as the negotiation of the U.S. peace agreement with the Taliban was about to be signed. That was too late to prevent the signing but timed well enough to ratchet up pressure on Trump to back away from his threat to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan.

Trump may have been briefed orally on the issue at the time, but even if he had not been, the presence of a summary description of the intelligence in the PDB could obviously have been used to embarrass him on Afghanistan by leaking it to the media.

According to Ray McGovern, a former CIA official who was responsible for preparing the PDB for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the insertion of raw, unconfirmed intelligence from a self-interested Afghan intelligence agency into the PDB was a departure from normal practice.

Unless it was a two or three-sentence summary of a current intelligence report, McGovern explained, an item in the PDB normally involved only important intelligence that had been confirmed. Furthermore, according to McGovern, PDB items are normally shorter versions of items prepared the same day as part of the CIA’s “World Intelligence Review” or “WIRe.”

Information about the purported Russian bounty scheme, however, was not part of the WIRe until May 4, well over two months later, according to the Times. That discrepancy added weight to the suggestion that the CIA had political motivations for planting the raw NDS reporting in the PDB before it could be evaluated.

This June, Trump’s National Security Council (NSC) convened a meeting to discuss the intelligence report, officials told the Times. NSC members drew up a range of options in response to the alleged Russian plot, from a diplomatic protest to more forceful responses. Any public indication that US troops in Afghanistan had been targeted by Russian spies would have inevitably threatened Trump’s plan for withdrawal from Afghanistan.

At some point in the weeks that followed, the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency each undertook evaluations of the Afghan intelligence claims. Once the Times began publishing stories about the issue, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe directed the National Intelligence Council, which is responsible for managing all common intelligence community assessments, to write a memorandum summarizing the intelligence organizations’ conclusions.

The memorandum revealed that the intelligence agencies were not impressed with what they’d seen. The CIA and National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) each gave the NDS intelligence an assessment of “moderate confidence,” according to memorandum.

An official guide to intelligence community terminology used by policymakers to determine how much they should rely on assessments indicates that “moderate confidence” generally indicates that “the information being used in the analysis may be interpreted in various ways….” It was hardly a ringing endorsement of the NDS intelligence when the CIA and NCTC arrived at this finding.

The assessment by the National Security Agency was even more important, given that it had obtained intercepts of electronic data on financial transfers “from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account,” according to the Times’ sources. But the NSA evidently had no idea what the transfers related to, and essentially disavowed the information from the Afghan intelligence agency.

The NIC memorandum reported that NSA gave the information from Afghan intelligence “low confidence” — the lowest of the three possible levels of confidence used in the intelligence community. According to the official guide to intelligence community terminology, that meant that “information used in the analysis is scant, questionable, fragmented, or that solid analytical conclusions cannot be inferred from the information.”

Other intelligence agencies reportedly assigned “low confidence” to the information as well, according to the memorandum. Even the Defense Intelligence Agency, known for its tendency to issue alarmist warnings about activities by US adversaries, found no evidence in the material linking the Kremlin to any bounty offers.

Less than two weeks after the Times rolled out its supposed bombshell on Russian bounties, relying entirely on national security officials pushing their own bureaucratic interests on Afghanistan, the story was effectively discredited by the intelligence community itself. In a healthy political climate, this would have produced a major setback for the elements determined to keep US troops entrenched in Afghanistan.

But the political hysteria generated by the Times and the hyper-partisan elements triggered by the appearance of another sordid Trump-Putin connection easily overwhelmed the countervailing facts. It was all the Pentagon and its bureaucratic allies needed to push back on plans for a speedy withdrawal from a long and costly war.

https://thegrayzone.com/2020/07/07/pentagon-afghan-bountygate-us-intelligence-agencies/

[RandomGuy]

Which people are you saying know for a fact that Russia was paying bounties? Be specific. Schiff obviously wasn’t concerned.

I am not saying for a fact that anyone knows. Another strawman lie.

[RandomGuy]

[Crickets]

Yeah, that's what I thought, you cowardly turd. Run the fuck way the way you always do when your side steps in dogshit.

You have assumed, incorrectly, that I actually saw your question. Haven't been following this much yet, as it develops.

Seems obvious at this point that is is true, because the Trump administration is going hard after the leakers.

[boutons_deux]

Trump has known Russia was funding the Taliban since 2017, and he never once pushed back

https://images.dailykos.com/images/678825/story_image/AP_18199008282876.jpg?1558714394

Pentagon officials became aware of Russian efforts to fund the Taliban two years earlier, in 2017.

This transfer of funds

helped not just to fund attacks on individual U.S. troops,

but to disrupt attempts to secure a lasting peace agreement.

Through it all, Trump took no action.

Actually, that’s not true—

through it all, Trump insisted that the Pentagon share information with the people who were behind the murder of U.S. troops.

And that action gave Putin and the Kremlin a

very good picture of Trump: A weak man who was in their pocket.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/9/1959343/-Trump-has-known-Russia-was-funding-the-Taliban-since-2017-and-he-never-once-pushed-back

[TSA]

So Russia really did offer bounties on US troops? and paid them?Is there a single Russia story you haven't fallen for? :lol

https://twitter.com/DrewHolden360/status/1306381521566101505

[koriwhat]

Russia, Russia, Russia!!! :cry

[RandomGuy]

Is there a single Russia story you haven't fallen for? :lol

https://twitter.com/DrewHolden360/status/1306381521566101505

smh

More then enough for me to reach that conclusion at this point. More likely than not.

This kind of thing seems to be above your ability to grasp nuance, so not really going to bother with it.

Funny that you think some tweet that you agree with is somehow more valid than actual intel work that goes into such assessments.

[TSA]

smh

More then enough for me to reach that conclusion at this point. More likely than not.

This kind of thing seems to be above your ability to grasp nuance, so not really going to bother with it.

Funny that you think some tweet that you agree with is somehow more valid than actual intel work that goes into such assessments.

Funny that the actual intel work that goes into such assessments says you fell for another Russia story again :lol

WASHINGTON — Two months after top Pentagon officials vowed to get to the bottom of whether the Russian government bribed the Taliban to kill American service members, the commander of troops in the region says a detailed review of all available intelligence has not been able to corroborate the existence of such a program.

"It just has not been proved to a level of certainty that satisfies me," Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told NBC News. McKenzie oversees U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. continues to hunt for new information on the matter, he said.

"We continue to look for that evidence," the general said. "I just haven't seen it yet. But … it's not a closed issue."

McKenzie's comments, reflecting a consensus view among military leaders, underscores the lack of certainty around a narrative that has been accepted as fact by Democrats and other Trump critics, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has cited Russian bounties in attacks on President Donald Trump.

U.S. intelligence agencies have for years documented Russian financial and military support to the Taliban, but a Russian program to incentivize the killing of American service members would represent a significant escalation.

Trump said he did not raise the issue of Russian payments to the Taliban in his most recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Critics have said he should have. Senior military officials say they don't believe the intelligence is strong enough to act on.

Echoing comments in July by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, McKenzie said that if he could establish that the Russians were offering payments to kill Americans, he would push to forcefully respond. But the intelligence is far from conclusive, he said.

"I found what they presented to me very concerning, very worrisome. I just couldn't see the final connection, so I sent my guys back and said, look, keep digging. So we have continued to dig and look because this involves potential threats to U.S. forces, it's open," he said, adding, "I just haven't seen anything that closes that gap yet."

A U.S. military official familiar with the intelligence added that after a review of the intelligence around each attack against Americans going back several years, none have been tied to any Russian incentive payments.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-commander-intel-still-hasn-t-established-russia-paid-n1240020

[TSA]

The Russian Bounties Story Turns Out to Be Trash Journalism

How many times will people have to fall for this before they learn?

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/the-russian-bounties-story-turns-out-to-be-trash-journalism/

:lol RG

[RandomGuy]

Funny that the actual intel work that goes into such assessments says you fell for another Russia story again :lol


:lol you think Russia is our friend.

[RandomGuy]

The Russian Bounties Story Turns Out to Be Trash Journalism

How many times will people have to fall for this before they learn?

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/the-russian-bounties-story-turns-out-to-be-trash-journalism/

:lol RG

fake news national review give conspiracy theorist a headline he wants to hear.

:lol TSA


In other words, not only is there not a consensus intelligence finding, there is a consensus view among the military brass that the story hasn’t been proven. That does not mean it is impossible; many things are possible. Russian support for the Taliban while the Taliban have been at war with us for 19 years is already well-known, and it is certainly plausible that Russian intelligence might go further than that. But every report on this story has, properly, treated the possible offer or payment of bounties as a significant and newsworthy escalation.

It does reach some reasonable conclusions though.

Worth looking into, and taking seriously.

Whatever you think about the credibility of the story, your cult leader has done neither.

So... eat a bag of dicks, bootlick.

[koriwhat]

:lol you think Russia is our friend.

:lol you think Russia colluded with DJT

[TSA]

fake news national review tells conspiracy theorist what he wants to hear.

:lol TSAThe commander of US Central Command who oversees troops in Afghanistan shits on your debunked conspiracy theory.



WASHINGTON — Two months after top Pentagon officials vowed to get to the bottom of whether the Russian government bribed the Taliban to kill American service members, the commander of troops in the region says a detailed review of all available intelligence has not been able to corroborate the existence of such a program.

"It just has not been proved to a level of certainty that satisfies me," Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told NBC News. McKenzie oversees U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. continues to hunt for new information on the matter, he said.

"We continue to look for that evidence," the general said. "I just haven't seen it yet. But … it's not a closed issue."

McKenzie's comments, reflecting a consensus view among military leaders, underscores the lack of certainty around a narrative that has been accepted as fact by Democrats and other Trump critics, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has cited Russian bounties in attacks on President Donald Trump.

U.S. intelligence agencies have for years do ented Russian financial and military support to the Taliban, but a Russian program to incentivize the killing of American service members would represent a significant escalation.

Trump said he did not raise the issue of Russian payments to the Taliban in his most recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Critics have said he should have. Senior military officials say they don't believe the intelligence is strong enough to act on.

Echoing comments in July by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, McKenzie said that if he could establish that the Russians were offering payments to kill Americans, he would push to forcefully respond. But the intelligence is far from conclusive, he said.

"I found what they presented to me very concerning, very worrisome. I just couldn't see the final connection, so I sent my guys back and said, look, keep digging. So we have continued to dig and look because this involves potential threats to U.S. forces, it's open," he said, adding, "I just haven't seen anything that closes that gap yet."

A U.S. military official familiar with the intelligence added that after a review of the intelligence around each attack against Americans going back several years, none have been tied to any Russian incentive payments.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-commander-intel-still-hasn-t-established-russia-paid-n1240020

:lol seriously RG how many more fake Russia stories are you going to fall for?

[RandomGuy]

This message is hidden because koriwhat is on your ignore list.'


sweet, sweet nothing.

[RandomGuy]

The commander of US Central Command who oversees troops in Afghanistan shits on your debunked conspiracy theory.



WASHINGTON — Two months after top Pentagon officials vowed to get to the bottom of whether the Russian government bribed the Taliban to kill American service members, the commander of troops in the region says a detailed review of all available intelligence has not been able to corroborate the existence of such a program.

"It just has not been proved to a level of certainty that satisfies me," Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told NBC News. McKenzie oversees U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. continues to hunt for new information on the matter, he said.

"We continue to look for that evidence," the general said. "I just haven't seen it yet. But … it's not a closed issue."

McKenzie's comments, reflecting a consensus view among military leaders, underscores the lack of certainty around a narrative that has been accepted as fact by Democrats and other Trump critics, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has cited Russian bounties in attacks on President Donald Trump.

U.S. intelligence agencies have for years do ented Russian financial and military support to the Taliban, but a Russian program to incentivize the killing of American service members would represent a significant escalation.

Trump said he did not raise the issue of Russian payments to the Taliban in his most recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Critics have said he should have. Senior military officials say they don't believe the intelligence is strong enough to act on.

Echoing comments in July by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, McKenzie said that if he could establish that the Russians were offering payments to kill Americans, he would push to forcefully respond. But the intelligence is far from conclusive, he said.

"I found what they presented to me very concerning, very worrisome. I just couldn't see the final connection, so I sent my guys back and said, look, keep digging. So we have continued to dig and look because this involves potential threats to U.S. forces, it's open," he said, adding, "I just haven't seen anything that closes that gap yet."

A U.S. military official familiar with the intelligence added that after a review of the intelligence around each attack against Americans going back several years, none have been tied to any Russian incentive payments.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-commander-intel-still-hasn-t-established-russia-paid-n1240020

:lol seriously RG how many more fake Russia stories are you going to fall for?


"I found what they presented to me very concerning, very worrisome. I just couldn't see the final connection, so I sent my guys back and said, look, keep digging.

What has Trump said on this specifically, bootlick?

[TSA]

What has Trump said on this specifically, bootlick?

Sorry RG question pending.

seriously RG how many more fake Russia stories are you going to fall for?

[koriwhat]

This message is hidden because koriwhat is on your ignore list.'


sweet, sweet nothing.

lol that's not what you were saying yesterday as you checked a reply from me. sweet, sweet nothing is all you do around here rachel maddow.

[TSA]

What has Trump said on this specifically, bootlick?

And why did you cut off the rest of the quote? :lol

“So we have continued to dig and look because this involves potential threats to U.S. forces, it's open," he said, adding, "I just haven't seen anything that closes that gap yet."

A U.S. military official familiar with the intelligence added that after a review of the intelligence around each attack against Americans going back several years, none have been tied to any Russian incentive payments.”

:lol you’re such a piece of shit

[RandomGuy]

Sorry RG question pending.

seriously RG how many more fake Russia stories are you going to fall for?

Preferably zero. Easy to answer.

What has Trump said about this specifically?

[ChumpDumper]

Fewer than TSA has fallen for.

[koriwhat]

:lol you’re such a piece of shit

they all are, here at least, tbh.

[RandomGuy]

And why did you cut off the rest of the quote? :lol

“So we have continued to dig and look because this involves potential threats to U.S. forces, it's open," he said, adding, "I just haven't seen anything that closes that gap yet."

A U.S. military official familiar with the intelligence added that after a review of the intelligence around each attack against Americans going back several years, none have been tied to any Russian incentive payments.”

:lol you’re such a piece of shit

Already acknowledged above in the snippet from the other article.


there is a consensus view among the military brass that the story hasn’t been proven.

Happy to accept that. It is pretty serious, and you would want some pretty damned good evidence before acting on it.

Now, what has Trump said about it specifically, bootlick?

[TSA]

Preferably zero. Easy to answer.With your track record of falling for these Russia stories over the last 4 years? :lmao


What has Trump said about this specifically?Who fucking cares? Why should Trump respond to fake news from anonymous sources? It was a bullshit story fed to the media by war mongers wanting to keep our troops in Afghanistan.

[RandomGuy]

With your track record of falling for these Russia stories over the last 4 years? :lmao

Who fucking cares? Why should Trump respond to fake news from anonymous sources? It was a bullshit story fed to the media by war mongers wanting to keep our troops in Afghanistan.

Indeed. Why should the president care about the troops under his command.

Such a puzzling question.


"I have never discussed it with him," he told Axios in an interview.

Trump talked by phone with Putin as recently as last Thursday.

In all, he has spoken with the Kremlin leader at least eight times since late February, when intelligence flagging alleged Russian bounties was included in the secret daily presidential briefing, Axios reported.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-dismisses-report-of-russian-bounties-on-us-soldiers/ar-BB17kPHa

I don't give a rats ass about afghanistan.

I do care if some other country is deliberately targeting our troops.

You fucking know your cult leader licks putins taint at every opportunity, but seem content, because of your worship of him, to never bother asking why.

[RandomGuy]

With your track record of falling for these Russia stories over the last 4 years? :lmao

Who fucking cares? Why should Trump respond to fake news from anonymous sources? It was a bullshit story fed to the media by war mongers wanting to keep our troops in Afghanistan.

Tell, you what, bootlick.

Give me, right here, the most critical thing Donald Trump has said about Vladimir Putin. Show me up.

[RandomGuy]

... and...crickets.

I'll wait.

[Spurs Homer]

... and...crickets.

I'll wait.

Trump doesn't have the balls to openly say shit about his boss -

but comrade TSA is surely googling that

"no one has been tougher on russia than trump" talking point in 5,4,3...

[RandomGuy]

Indeed. Why should the president care about the troops under his command.

Such a puzzling question.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-dismisses-report-of-russian-bounties-on-us-soldiers/ar-BB17kPHa

I don't give a rats ass about afghanistan.

I do care if some other country is deliberately targeting our troops.

You fucking know your cult leader licks putins taint at every opportunity, but seem content, because of your worship of him, to never bother asking why.

Ok, after some reflection, I do care about Afghanistan. Hopefully we can stabilize the country a bit so that it isn't a security gap when we leave.

[Ef-man]

Ok, after some reflection, I do care about Afghanistan. Hopefully we can stabilize the country a bit so that it isn't a security gap when we leave.

Troops do not appreciate trump saying he would look into it and not getting back to them on this.

[RandomGuy]

Still waiting TSA

Worst thing Trump has said about Putin.

[hater]

"Marsha marsha marsha!!!"

[Ef-man]

Still waiting TSA

Worst thing Trump has said about Putin.

TSA’s silence confirms fold.

[RandomGuy]

This message is hidden because koriwhat is on your ignore list.'


sweet, sweet nothing.

... and back to sweet sweet nothing

[RandomGuy]

With your track record of falling for these Russia stories over the last 4 years? :lmao

Who fucking cares? Why should Trump respond to fake news from anonymous sources? It was a bullshit story fed to the media by war mongers wanting to keep our troops in Afghanistan.

Still waiting, bootlick.

Worst thing Trump ever said about Putin.

At least now that your cult leader is out of power, we MIGHT get some action on this.

[Spurs Homer]

Still waiting, bootlick.

Worst thing Trump ever said about Putin.

At least now that your cult leader is out of power, we MIGHT get some action on this.


as soon as comrade TSA -

MAKES BAIL-

for his participation in the capitol terrorism attack on usa democracy


he will weigh in...



:lmao:rollin:lmao

[RandomGuy]

as soon as comrade TSA -

MAKES BAIL-

for his participation in the capitol terrorism attack on usa democracy


he will weigh in...



:lmao:rollin:lmao

dude is hiding in his basement in the corner getting ready for the antifa supersoldiers to come get him and the other qtards.

[baseline bum]

as soon as comrade TSA -

MAKES BAIL-

for his participation in the capitol terrorism attack on usa democracy


he will weigh in...



:lmao:rollin:lmao

Maybe TSA was Ashli Babbitt? From San Diego right?

[spurraider21]

Maybe TSA was Ashli Babbitt? From San Diego right?
his last activity here was December 14... maybe he offed himself after the electoral college voted

[Leetonidas]

Probably got COVID tbh

[Ef-man]

his last activity here was December 14... maybe he offed himself after the electoral college voted

TheGreatYacht last posted on December 3, 2020, so am betting that they were raptured by some conservative being that thrives on crazy conspiracies.

If this is true, why do we still have the derp you say? Even conservative rapturing beings that thrive on crazy conspiracies have standards they will not bend the knee on.

[spurraider21]

TheGreatYacht last posted on December 3, 2020, so am betting that they were raptured by some conservative being that thrives on crazy conspiracies.

If this is true, why do we still have the derp you say? Even conservative rapturing beings that thrive on crazy conspiracies have standards they will not bend the knee on.
TGY is still posting regularly in the spurs forum

[DarrinS]

1382713472056709123

[Ball Buster]

Turns out, it was all bullshit.

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1382714557941100548?s=21

[ElNono]

So they didn't walk it back... right on the linked article:

“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

“This information puts a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior,” the official said, indicating that Biden is unprepared to walk the story back fully.

[Ball Buster]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1382717344024293378?s=21

[ElNono]

What happened to Glenn Greenwald, tbh? I guess he has a new site to promote.

Interesting that he'll take the government at it's word just this one time.

[DarrinS]

"Russiagate: the eternal crack pipe of the corporate media"

:lmao

[ChumpDumper]

Darrin: The eternal apologist for Donald fucking Trump

:lmao

[koriwhat]

Fake News as always but the usual suspects here on ST will run cover for their darlings in the MSM as expected.

[spurraider21]

So they didn't walk it back... right on the linked article:

“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

“This information puts a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior,” the official said, indicating that Biden is unprepared to walk the story back fully.
imagine thinking anybody would read that

[hater]

https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1382741765732585472?s=19

"There was no reason not to investigate" - Jen Pffsaki

:lmao

[Ef-man]

imagine thinking anybody would read that

No one told hater that section was not optional.

[hater]

"Low to moderate confidence"


:lmao jesus fucking christ :lol

Thats Totalitarian Newspeak translation for: "we have no fucking evidence but I guess its possible, anythings possible"


:lmao :lol

[hater]

:lmao ma sauces strike again :lmao

No proof, no evidence, another nothing burger

And btw

Did the NYT not watch Charlie Wilsons war??? :lmao

Called it :smokin

[hater]

:lmao

"Confirmed by multiple press reports"

All these press reports do is cite the New York Lies bs report :lmao :lmao

:lol Ted Liu. :lmao senile motherfucker

:lol

[hater]

You realize anyone can be an intelligence source right?

Now if you are talking about a source within the intelligence community, but remember that source was quoting a tortured prisioner of war. It is well known a prisioner of war will say anything to keep himself alive.

In other words this thread is going to die a very painful death :lmao

Called it :lol

[hater]

:lmao Taliban spokesman is basically saying they been killing americans for free since 2001 why in the world would Russia offer bounties now :lmao

https://twitter.com/Katereena/status/1277673129096159233?s=19

Nailed it :wow

[Ef-man]

So they didn't walk it back... right on the linked article:

“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

“This information puts a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior,” the official said, indicating that Biden is unprepared to walk the story back fully.


If hater can read this section and take away that it means that russia was not involved, anyone can read it and take away that it says "hater sucks dicks." And I can prove it!



“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

“This information puts a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior,” the official said, indicating that Biden is unprepared to walk the story back fully

[hater]

"Low to moderate confidence"


:lmao jesus fucking christ :lol

Thats Totalitarian Newspeak translation for: "we have no fucking evidence but I guess its possible, anythings possible"


:lmao :lol

:lmao :lol

[Ef-man]

If hater can read this section and take away that it means that russia was not involved, anyone can read it and take away that it says "hater sucks dicks." And I can prove it!



“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

“This information puts a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior,” the official said, indicating that Biden is unprepared to walk the story back fully

Nailed it!

[hater]

Nailed it!

I have low to moderate confidence you are currently sitting on an 8 inch dildo.


This puts a burden on you to prove me wrong.



:lmao

[Ef-man]

I have low to moderate confidence you are currently sitting on an 8 inch dildo.


This puts a burden on you to prove me wrong.

:lmao

:cry Hater cunt hurt :cry
Nailed it!


I have low to moderate confidence you are currently sitting on an 8 inch dildo.


This puts a burden on you to prove me wrong.

[ElNono]

Hater didn't write the clickbait tweet, tbh... he just ran with it.

[hater]

:cry Hater cunt hurt :cry
Nailed it!


I have low to moderate confidence you are currently sitting on an 8 inch dildo.


This puts a burden on you to prove me wrong.


I have low to moderate confidence you are currently sitting on an 8 inch dildo.


This puts a burden on you to prove me wrong.



:lmao



Burden remains and by your reaction its moving closer to moderate :lmao

[Ef-man]

:cry Hater cunt hurt :cry
Nailed it!


I have low to moderate confidence you are currently sitting on an 8 inch dildo.


This puts a burden on you to prove me wrong.

[ElNono]

Plus, it's actually encouraging this was investigated thoroughly and the results aired out, regardless of the outcome or how it makes X or Y look.

If they happen to report the opposite they reported, then we'll hear CIATimes and NSAWapo excuses anyways, tbh...

[hater]

Plus, it's actually encouraging this was investigated thoroughly and the results aired out, regardless of the outcome or how it makes X or Y look.

If they happen to report the opposite they reported, then we'll hear CIATimes and NSAWapo excuses anyways, tbh...

Bullshit

We knew it was bullshit from the moment they said anonymous sauces and "from a tortured taliban prisoner" :lmao


I called it on day 1

Ther rest was all theatrics

[hater]

Womp womp womp

https://twitter.com/mediachecker/status/1382839334219476993?s=19

"and now you know from this report in the NYT since confirmed by WSJ...THAT NOT ONLY DOES THE PRESIDENT KNOW THAT RUSSIA WAS PAYING FOR THESE AMERICAN SOLDIERS DEATHS...." - Ralph Maddow

"he (Trump) is not even there yet... Hes still saying that the REPORTING ABOUT THE FACT(THE FACT :lol) THEY WERE OFFERING THESE BOUNTIES IS FAKE " - Ali Velshy

"ITS UNBELIEVABLE, JOANNE" - Shitler

"...reporting that Russis had bounties on the heads of american soldiers. Do you know what a bounty is? Is somebody puts a price on your head and they will pay it if you are killed! " - Kopmala Harris

[ElNono]

Bullshit

We knew it was bullshit from the moment they said anonymous sauces and "from a tortured taliban prisoner" :lmao

I called it on day 1

Ther rest was all theatrics

This doesn't contradict one word I said, and you lapping it up doesn't either. I didn't even say you were wrong.

This administration could've easily buried the conclusions of the report since it arguably makes them look bad and choose not to.

Not sure how you can spin that into a negative. Contrast with Barr stonewalling redactions of the Mueller report on obstruction for years, for example.

[hater]

This doesn't contradict one word I said, and you lapping it up doesn't either. I didn't even say you were wrong.

This administration could've easily buried the conclusions of the report since it arguably makes them look bad and choose not to.

Not sure how you can spin that into a negative. Contrast with Barr stonewalling redactions of the Mueller report on obstruction for years, for example.

The investigation started way before this administration. And as I said after day one it became all theatrics. Secrett sauces, tortured afghan blah blah blah. It was bullshit since day 1. Yet watch the video I posted of the entire media and politicians (kopmala) taking this as facts.

Everything went wrong with this bullshit since day one. It was yet another propaganda fake news hoax operation from the very beggining. You can pretend it was a legit investigation but youre just fooling yourself in the end.

[ElNono]

The investigation started way before this administration. And as I said after day one it became all theatrics. Secrett sauces, tortured afghan blah blah blah. It was bullshit since day 1. Yet watch the video I posted of the entire media and politicians (kopmala) taking this as facts.

Everything went wrong with this bullshit since day one. It was yet another propaganda fake news hoax operation from the very beggining. You can pretend it was a legit investigation but youre just fooling yourself in the end.

I'm not getting in the way of you calling dibs, I think that's perfectly fair.

But the point stands: this administration could've easily told the MSM and/or intel services to keep their mouth shut and didn't, despite it can certainly be interpreted as a black eye on them.

It doesn't excuse any actions by anybody, past or present. I do think it's laudable.

[Spurtacular]

Bullshit

We knew it was bullshit from the moment they said anonymous sauces and "from a tortured taliban prisoner" :lmao


I called it on day 1

Ther rest was all theatrics

Chumpettes aren't required to be skeptical. They only have to chirp.

[hater]

I'm not getting in the way of you calling dibs, I think that's perfectly fair.

But the point stands: this administration could've easily told the MSM and/or intel services to keep their mouth shut and didn't, despite it can certainly be interpreted as a black eye on them.

It doesn't excuse any actions by anybody, past or present. I do think it's laudable.

They couldnt keep their mouths shut. U act as if they had a choice.

If reporters ask they had to give an answer. And if they doubled down on the hoax they had to give details. Thats because the sanctions were supposed to close the loop.

U really think if Biden admin could have kept the Russia Bountyhoax under wraps they wouldnt? :lmao

I have a bridge to sell u in Chispiritoland :lmao

[ChumpDumper]

Turns out there was no reason not to investigate after all. :lol

[hater]

Turns out there was no reason not to investigate after all. :lol

1980chump

[Ball Buster]

https://twitter.com/maxblumenthal/status/1382951513161601028?s=21

[ChumpDumper]

But the war is not being prolonged.

[hater]

https://twitter.com/maxblumenthal/status/1382951513161601028?s=21

Or if you would have reading spurstalk and the poster called hater :tu

[Ball Buster]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1383082050945753089?s=21

[Ball Buster]

But the war is not being prolonged.

Over 20 years in Afghanistan :lol

[ChumpDumper]

Over 20 years in Afghanistan :lolWhat was just announced?

[hater]

https://twitter.com/DennisC08964022/status/1383118252780486659?s=19

[SnakeBoy]

So they didn't walk it back... right on the linked article:

“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

“This information puts a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take steps to address this disturbing pattern of behavior,” the official said, indicating that Biden is unprepared to walk the story back fully.

We admit this story is bullshit but Russia has the burden to disprove it

[ElNono]

They couldnt keep their mouths shut. U act as if they had a choice.

Of course they had a choice, this news came from the intelligence services themselves.

It's actually fascinating seeing Glenn Greenwald of all people taking the government at it's word.

[ElNono]

We admit this story is bullshit but Russia has the burden to disprove it

They can certainly call it flat out false. They didn't.

Again, we are either taking them at their word or we're not. Make up your minds, tbh...

[ElNono]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1383082050945753089?s=21

Glenn just took official claims from the CIA as true without evidence though. I guess he deserves scorn?

[Ball Buster]

But the war is not being prolonged.

https://twitter.com/thegrayzonenews/status/1383190933651460098?s=21

Are you stupid? I’m just asking. :lol

[pgardn]

^^^
Damn.
He stole Trump's idea?

[Ball Buster]

^^^
Damn.
He stole Trump's idea?

Probably. Trump is an establishment goon also.

[pgardn]

Probably. Trump is an establishment goon also.

Oh.

So who did you want as president?

[ChumpDumper]

https://twitter.com/thegrayzonenews/status/1383190933651460098?s=21

Are you stupid? I’m just asking. :lolNo one said he was ending it today.


Are you stupid?

[Ball Buster]

Oh.

So who did you want as president?

Don’t care. Didn’t vote, don’t vote. I tend to be a left leaning libertarian, but I’m not a complete lefty.

[pgardn]

Don’t care. Didn’t vote, don’t vote. I tend to be a left leaning libertarian, but I’m not a complete lefty.

Then what you think really does not matter.
You dont participate.