How Russian military intelligence used the Taliban to bleed U.S. forces at the end of America’s longest war

The Insider ^ | Jan 8, 2025 | Roman Dobrokhotov, Christo Grozev, Michael Weiss

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

Afgantsy Redux: How Russian military intelligence used the Taliban to bleed U.S. forces at the end of America’s longest war

Roman Dobrokhotov, Christo Grozev, Michael Weiss 8 January 2025

The GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, spent years financing terrorist groups in Afghanistan to target U.S. and coalition forces. An investigation by The Insider has not only confirmed the existence of the program but also identified GRU officers responsible for its coordination. The Russian intelligence agency used a gemstone trading company as a front to run a network of Afghan couriers who delivered money to Taliban fighters and other militant groups. Once their missions were completed, the couriers were provided with Russian documents and granted asylum in Russia.

[Organic Panic]

Yeah. They worked to get Chomo Joe installed

[wildcard_redneck]

The great game in Afghanistan has gone on forever and will continue to go on forever. I feel pity for the Afghanis.

[BobL]

It doesn’t take much to outsmart a Woke military.

[MinorityRepublican]

There was no justification for us to stay in Afghanistan after the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

But the MIC didn't want us to leave. One thing that's weird is that they were okay with Joe Biden ordering the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. They didn't try to stop him.

[KarlInOhio]

Hmmm. I seem to remember one superpower that used a war in Afghanistan to bleed the other superpower dry back in the 1980s. How dare the Russians do it back to us!

[DesertRhino]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/remember-those-russian-bounties-dead-u-s-troops-biden-admin-n1264215

Ahhh yes....an oldie! The old Russians putting bounties on US soldiers scam again! LOL

[wildcard_redneck]

"Hmmm. I seem to remember one superpower that used a war in Afghanistan to bleed the other superpower dry back in the 1980s. How dare the Russians do it back to us!"

Right?! The only standards neocons have are double standards. They love to claim that their "rules-based order" has ordained by God and is without error but it is just a banking cartel with guns.

[Nateman]

The same thing was done by the US when the Soviets were in Afghanistan. How did they pay us back for all that help? 911.

[House Atreides]

RUSSIA!, RUSSIA!, RUSSIA! ?

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Are you in the cubicle next to Speedy?

[Mogger]

Any "leader" who thinks going into Afghanistan is a good idea should read Kipling.

No outside force ever wins in the long term there.

[PGR88]

So we are bringing up the phony “bounty on American soldiers” narrative again to justify your forever wars?

What garbage.

[Zhang Fei]

[Any “leader” who thinks going into Afghanistan is a good idea should read Kipling.
No outside force ever wins in the long term there.]

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Invaders have repeatedly crushed the natives of Afghanistan, and butchered them in large numbers. The US killed maybe 100K Taliban. Alexander, Genghis Khan, Ranjit Singh - all went through it like crap through a goose, stacking up mountains of corpses as they went. Most eventually left not due to native resistance, but because the place was a wasteland. Its only value was as a crossroads for trading caravans, but the craggy terrain made the route complicated to guard against bandits. So many traders simply bypassed Afghanistan for routes that skirted its territory. Then cheap, fast and safe oceanic shipping wiped out whatever meager trading custom Afghanistan retained. While it’s not the Sahara Desert, its value isn’t far removed from that wasteland.

[Mr. Blond]

The US funded the Taliban to fight the Russians in the first place.

[zeestephen]

Bleed U.S. Forces in Afghanistan?

My recollection of 2016 is that Trump cut USA military casualties almost to zero.

[allendale]

It was absolute insanity for Bush/Cheney to stay in Afghanistan, fight determined warriors, and attempt “nation building” which was really a foolish effort to impose Western values. Not only did over 3,000 brave young Americans die, tens of thousands more became physically and psychologically maimed, but Afghanistan became a major drug producer, the culture even more regressive and China has now stepped in.

The Biden withdrawal was done extremely poorly. If anyone in the Pentagon knew how to conduct an effective withdrawal or retreat, they were not allowed to particpate. Nevertheless the Biden Administration did do the right strategic thing in the wrong way to get out of Afghanistan. Of course they for whatever bizarre reason continue to send billions of dollars yearly since the withdrawal to the oppressive Taliban.

Hopefully Trump will do what he has been saying and disengage even more comprehensively from the alien Mideast.

[ETCM]

There was no justification for us to stay in Afghanistan after the assassination of Osama bin Laden. But the MIC didn't want us to leave.

Much of the equipment we "left behind" was given to the Government of Afghanistan after Bin Laden was eliminated. By 2005, the mission in Afghanistan had shifted from killing Bin Laden to Nation Building. 2002 is when Bin Laden fled Afghanistan, and that is when we should have declared victory and walked away.

[Zhang Fei]

[The US funded the Taliban to fight the Russians in the first place.]

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The Taliban did not exist at the time the Russians occupied Afghanistan. It arose in the 90s, after the Russians had left. For Russia, Afghanistan was just the latest in a chain of conquests of Central Asian countries. If the US hadn’t sent aid to Afghan rebels, the country would likely have been defeated and incorporated into the Russian empire. The economic strain of fighting even this minor war likely contributed to the Russian empire’s partial dissolution.

[MinorityRepublican]

2002 is when Bin Laden fled Afghanistan, and that is when we should have declared victory and walked away.

Difficult to do because at that time we were still sort of pissed off over 9/11.