Politico | Russian forces squeeze US troops in Syria amid uproar over Trump’s dealings with Moscow
- The dispute over intelligence about bounty payments in Afghanistan is exposing a deep rift in the US government over how to handle Russia
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Lara Seligman and Betsy Woodruff Swan on politico.com on June 30, 2020.
Russian forces are encroaching on US troop-controlled territory in eastern Syria – part of what American officials say is a deliberate campaign to squeeze the US military out of the region, according to two current US officials and one former US official.
The growing friction between US and Russian troops in Syria comes against a backdrop of deepening mistrust between the national security community and President Donald Trump’s White House over dealings with Moscow. The tension burst into the open last week with revelations that Russia’s secretive military intelligence service offered bounties to the Taliban for killing US and coalition troops in Afghanistan. Lawmakers demanded answers this week amid bipartisan anger that the Trump administration has known about the bounties for months but has not yet authorised a response to Russia.
Trump has denied being briefed on the bounties, but a Western defence official confirmed the arrangement to POLITICO. Other administration officials have said the intelligence is still being evaluated and have criticised the media for reporting on the issue.
The disclosure of the bounty programme has highlighted emerging frictions between the US and Russia in other areas, including in Syria.
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Entering its 10th year, Syrian civil war remains the 21st century’s deadliest conflict so far
For years, the two countries have at times supported opposing sides in the long-running civil war – with Moscow propping up Syrian President Bashar al Assad and Washington eventually supporting Kurdish fighters who have pushed for de facto autonomy from the regime. Yet over the course of the war, the US and Russian militaries have communicated regularly in order to deconflict their respective forces on the crowded Syrian battle space. In the first years of the Trump administration, the White House even pushed the Pentagon to increase cooperation with the Russian military in Syria, three former Trump administration officials said.