Plot report requires proper US response Viewpoint

The reported plot by Russia’s military intelligence service to pay a bounty to the Taliban in Afghanistan for killing US and coalition forces, if confirmed, will mark another escalation of Russia’s conflict with the West, that would seem to cry out for a forceful response. President Donald Trump’s reaction in recent days – that he wasn’t told, that it is a hoax – has been utterly inadequate.

The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that US intelligence agencies concluded months ago a Russian military intelligence unit offered money for killing Americans last year. The bounties are believed to have caused the death of at least one soldier.

A proper US response would begin with loud and open protest to President Vladimir Putin. It would expose enough of the intelligence to make it credible, and then the United States would work with Nato allies on sanctions and other measures.

Rather than address the news itself, Trump offered more distractions and denials, claiming the intelligence agencies ‘‘did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me’’.

The reports, if true, demand a serious response. With Trump again immobilised, Congress will have to step up. It could start by approving the long-pending Deter Act, aimed at discouraging Russian interference in this year’s election.