President Donald Trump is under scrutiny for alleged Russian bounties paid for the killing of US soldiers. As this scrutiny heats up, US officials on Tuesday suggested Russia is squeezing US forces out of Syria. Reporting from Politico holds that several officials familiar with the situation has described tensions between US and Russian forces in the area.
When news of the alleged bounty program broke last week, Congressional leaders were outraged. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, among other lawmakers, demanded a briefing from the White House. Many lawmakers called for answers on when the president knew about the program. Intelligence officials have since confirmed that the situation was included in the president’s daily briefings.
In the days following the publication of an explosive story about the Russian bounty program in the New York Times and Washington Post, tensions between the White House and the intelligence community seem to have escalated. With the revelation of the Russian-funded program, many lawmakers feel as though they’ve been left in the dark on matters of national importance.
Trump claimed to have not been briefed on the issue. The White House maintains that the intel isn’t verified, hence why it wasn’t made public. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany shamed publications for breaking the story, claiming they were spreading misinformation. Publications have stood by their reporting on the matter, claiming their sources are trustworthy.
The episode has raised new questions about President Donald Trump’s attitude towards Russia. In the 2016 election, the intelligence community discovered unprecedented meddling in cloud services security by Russian nationals. The president, however, bristles whenever Russia is painted in a negative light.
The Cold Way may have ended thirty years ago, but that doesn’t mean the US and Russia are allies. Both nations have been suspicious of one another since the end of the war. Notably, the two back opposing sides of the conflict in Syria. Moscow backs Syrian President Bashar al Assad, though the US has deemed Assad a war criminal.
Meanwhile, Kurdish resistant fighters in the region have the ostensible support of the US. US forces in the region often clash with pro-Assad forces, but rarely openly fight their Russian counterparts. The only exception came in 2018, when, during a bloody battle, US forces engaged pro-Assad militants and killed some 200 to 300 people. Among them were some Russian mercenaries.
In the past month, however, the US forces stationed in Syria claim that they’ve have significantly more contact with Russian forces. The two have managed to avoid open conflict so far. However, the international community has accused Russian forces of war crimes against Syrians.
US officials believe that the close deployments and constant interaction are an attempt to squeeze American forces out of the region. While Russia seems hesitant to engage in open war with the US, their forces would be happy to see American soldiers gone.
