The New York Times reported that the Russian government was paying Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. As the story unfolded, questions about the veracity of the intelligence, Putin’s motives, and the Trump administration’s knowledge of the incident muddied the waters.

Fred Kagan joined the show to explain how the Russian government is using Afghanistan and other conflict zones to undermine American leadership abroad. He also discusses the validity of the intelligence and how the US should respond, if the reporting is true.

Fred Kagan, author of the 2007 report “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq,” is one of the intellectual architects of the successful “surge” strategy in Iraq. He is the director of AEI’s Critical Threats Project and a former professor of military history at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Download the transcript here.

The post WTH is going on with Russians paying to kill US soldiers? Is Putin paying the Taliban to kill American servicemen? appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.

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