A top United States military official said there is no evidence that Russian bounties paid to the Taliban led to any deaths of U.S. troops.
“I found it very worrisome,” Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who is in charge of U.S. Central Command, said of the intelligence. “I didn’t find that there was a causative link there.”
McKenzie’s comments are the first by a top military official regarding reports that a Russian spy unit offered to pay the Taliban to kill U.S. and other coalition troops in Afghanistan. Russia and the Taliban have denied taking part in such a scheme.
The Trump administration has insisted the president was not personally told of the Russian bounties because the intelligence had not been verified. But the intelligence was reportedly included in the President’s Daily Brief, a top-secret document compiled every day by the intelligence community that explains the most pressing issues around the world, earlier this year.
The administration has since initiated an investigation into the leak of the intelligence to news organizations.
McKenzie noted that while there is no evidence linking the bounties to troop deaths, Russia has long provided money and weapons to Taliban fighters.
“We should always remember, the Russians are not our friends,” he said. “And they do not wish us well, and we just need to remember that at all times when we evaluate that intelligence.”
