Sires Reacts To Reports Russia Offered Bounties To Kill US Troops

President Trump reportedly was briefed last year about Russian bounties being paid for dead American troops.  That word came in a New York Times article published last Friday.

According to the report, United States intelligence officials knew that a spy unit from Russia was secretly offering bounties “to Taliban-linked militants” for the killing of United States coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Congressman Albio Sires (D – District 8) issued this statement, expressing his outrage over the report, “I am disgusted and appalled, though ultimately not surprised, by reports that Russia has been running a bounty program to incentivize Taliban-linked militants to attack U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. These actions will not stand and demand a response from the U.S. government. While the President works on ingratiating himself with a ruthless and conniving dictator such as Putin, the Russian government allegedly plots to harm men and women of the U.S. armed forces. Congress needs to be briefed immediately on this matter and if the Trump Administration has known about this program for months, as has been reported, they have failed our service members and the American people by refusing to hold Russia accountable.”