Top commander: Russia 'legitimizing' Taliban to undermine US, NATO
Source: The Hill
Russia is trying to legitimize the Taliban in order to undermine the United States and NATO, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan said Thursday.
“The Russian involvement this year has become more difficult,” Gen. John Nicholson told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “First, they have begun to publicly legitimize the Taliban. This narrative that they promote is that the Taliban are fighting Islamic State and the Afghan government is not fighting Islamic State and that therefore there could be spillover of this group into the region. This is a false narrative.”
“I believe its intent is to undermine the United States and NATO,” he later added.
Nicholson was testifying about the current situation in Afghanistan, which he called a stalemate that he needs a few thousand more troops to break.
Among the challenges in the country are the actions of external actors such as Pakistan, Iran and Russia, Nicholson said.
He said Russia's meddling in Afghanistan started in 2016 and continues to increase.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/318741-top-commander-russia-legitimizing-taliban-to-undermine-us-nato
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