Any of you remember this? (Regarding Russian bounty on U.S. soldiers)

[no_hypocrisy]

Less than six months ago and around the time the Pentagon learned about the bounty on our soldiers' lives. Treaty with the Taliban proposed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51689443

"I really believe the Taliban wants to do something to show we're not all wasting time," Mr. Trump added. "If bad things happen, we'll go back with a force like no-one's ever seen."

The US will also lift sanctions against the Taliban and work with the UN to lift its separate sanctions against the group.

President Trump says it is "time after all these years to bring our people back home".

[genxlib]

1. That was immediately what I thought of

And it speaks perfectly to motive. Russia doesn't want us moving on from messy wars.

He wants us to stay engaged in damaging and polarizing deployments that keep our troops and our attention distracted elsewhere. Russia knows better than anyone that Afghanistan can suck the life out of a nation.

[Igel]

2. Of course not.

Remember, Russia wants to weaken and destabilize the US. It views it as good for them as well as payback.

Anything that helps fracture US society, makes it less cohesive, takes away attention from overseas, is a win for Putin.

The more polarized we are and the less well we pull together, the easier time he has.

So many people are helping Putin celebrate Victory Day (which was held earlier this week, postponed from earlier in the year).

Of course, let's not forget that Putin and Xi maybe not be bosom buddies, but they are allies in many things.

In 2008 I was saying Russia was a problem when others were all da zdravstvuet Rossiya! and "Reset!" and "The '80s want their foreign policy back!" Politics and power were more important than truth then, and it got us 2016. Took 6 years for it to be obvious--and even that view was messed with by Russia! And so it continues.