Allegations that Russia allegedly awarded Taliban fighters * for attacks on US military personnel have not yet been confirmed.

General Kenneth McKenzie, Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), announced this.

“We couldn't find evidence of a level of credibility that would satisfy me,” the general told NBC News.

According to Mackenzie, the material presented to him "was very disturbing and caused serious concern."

However, he did not see the final connection and "sent his guys back and ordered to continue digging."

  • Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Kenneth F. Mackenzie

  • AFP

  • © Fayez Nureldine

“We continue to dig and search as it deals with potential threats to US military personnel.

The question is still open.

I have not yet seen data that can fill the gap, ”said the CENTCOM commander.

According to Mackenzie, the people involved in the investigation take him very close to their hearts, but he cannot afford it.

“I have to take a step back and look at the big picture,” he added.

Unprovable threat

Mackenzie's position echoes earlier statements by other senior Pentagon officials.

In early July, General Mark Millie, chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff, said at a hearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Armed Forces that the US authorities were not aware of any Russian leadership in the Taliban attacks.

The general explained that there is a big difference between the leadership of actions and the assistance of weapons.

According to the Pentagon, Russia allegedly supported the Afghan Taliban.

However, there is no evidence that Russian intelligence could lead the militants.

Milli also added that the American intelligence services continue to search for evidence of the version stated earlier in the media that Russia was behind the Taliban attacks on the American military.

Pentagon chief Mark Esper made a similar statement earlier.

Commenting on the messages that appeared in the press, the minister explained that the department does not have information proving Russia's malicious actions in Afghanistan.

“I want to assure all of our staff that the ministry is taking all potential threats against US military personnel seriously,” Esper said.

  • Mark Esper

  • Reuters

  • © Greg Nash / Pool

Recall that the reason for the discussion about Moscow's alleged cooperation with the Taliban was the publication of The New York Times, in which, with reference to anonymous sources in the American intelligence, it was reported that Russia allegedly assigned rewards to the Taliban for attacks on the US military and coalition allies in Afghanistan.

Allegedly, this information was obtained by intelligence during the interrogations of the captured "rebels".

The publication claimed that the head of the White House, Donald Trump, was notified of this, but did not take any measures against Russia.

The New York Times was published on June 26.

A few days later, the publication developed the topic in a new article.

It stated that American officials allegedly intercepted electronic data with transfers of funds from Russian intelligence to an account associated with the Taliban.

The publication even named the name of the alleged mediator between Russia and the Taliban.

According to The New York Times, drug smuggler Rahmat Azizi acted as a contact.

As Vladimir Vasilyev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, national intelligence is a more politicized agency than the Pentagon.

“Today, the military do not want to quarrel with the intelligence leadership and get involved in political squabbles, so they avoid speaking definitely on this topic.

However, from the statements that have already been made by representatives of the military command, it is clear that the military supports Trump in this situation, ”the expert said.

Commenting on media reports, Donald Trump said that intelligence did not recognize the published information as reliable and therefore did not report it to the head of state or vice president.

Trump also did not rule out that we are talking about a fabricated story designed to put Republicans in a bad light.

The politician wrote about this on Twitter.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the accusations that appeared in the American media a fake and accused the American intelligence community of its appearance.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, this "simple stuffing" speaks of the "low intellectual abilities" of propagandists from American intelligence.

Taliban officials have also denied accusations made in the US media.

As the official representative of the Afghan Taliban movement Suheil Shahin stated earlier on the RT Going Underground broadcast, the Taliban do not fight for money, since they are fighting their own ideology.

In his opinion, the spread of disinformation in the media is associated with attempts to disrupt the peace process that began after the signing of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Doha.    

  • Suheil Shahin

  • AFP

  • © KARIM JAAFAR

However, the official State Department has so far refrained from supporting the accusations against Moscow.

Answering journalists' questions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used the subjunctive mood, speaking of a possible response to Russia's actions if the information that appeared in the media is confirmed.

“What we are saying is that if the Russians do offer a reward for killing Americans or, for that matter, other Westerners, then they will have to pay a huge price for it,” Pompeo told Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty **.

He also added that he pointed this out to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov.

“We have made it clear that we are familiar with history and we know that in the past Russia has armed the Taliban.

We also know that Iran continues to arm it today.

These facts are known to us, "Pompeo said, without answering the question of whether The New York Times' information is trustworthy.

Political overtones

At the same time, Donald Trump's political opponents do not allow doubts that the information presented in the media with reference to sources is true.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden accused Trump of betraying American interests.

“All of his (Trump's) presidency is a complete gift for Putin, but this is no way.

This is a betrayal of our country's most sacred duty to protect and equip our military, whom we send on dangerous missions, ”said Biden.

  • Joe Biden

  • Reuters

  • © Leah Millis

Biden's associate in the Democratic Party, the speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, believes that the publication of The New York Times is a sufficient basis for new sanctions against Russia.

She stated this on July 2 in an interview with MSNBC TV channel.

“We must impose sanctions on Russia and do it immediately,” Pelosi said.

According to political analyst Alexander Asafov, accusations that Trump allegedly did nothing, knowing that Russia pays the Taliban for attacks on American soldiers, are now being promoted by the Democratic Party and the media loyal to it for purely political reasons.

“Such accusations, accusations of betraying our own soldiers, always cause great resonance.

True, now in the United States there are already so many conflicting informational agenda that even such accusations need to be specially kept in the center of public attention, which is what the Democrats are doing, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

In turn, Vladimir Vasiliev is sure that this story has become an important marker, first of all, of the mood within the American military-political elite.

“The very story of Russia's ties with the Taliban is rather far-fetched.

But now in the United States there is a process of division of the "deep state", someone chooses loyalty to Trump, and someone to Biden.

And the military community made its choice, taking the side of Trump, who, unlike the Democrats, is increasing military spending, ”the expert said.

Yuri Rogulev, director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, shares a slightly different point of view.

According to the expert, the statement of the CENTCOM commander should be regarded as an attempt to evade a direct answer, and not arouse the anger of either Trump or the Democratic Party.

“This is a political story, and the military wants to stay out of political conflicts.

The Republicans have come to power today, the Democrats tomorrow, and the Pentagon remains.

And the generals need to interact with both one and the other.

Well, in general, everyone understands that the story is far-fetched - the Taliban do not need someone's money to kill the American military.

This is obvious, but the press writes about the collusion between Russia and the Taliban, since this campaign was launched by politicians.

The military stand aside, ”the expert summed up.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.

** Media recognized as a foreign agent by the decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 05.12.2017.