That was in response to Swan raising the issue of intelligence report(s) that Russia offered the Taliban bounties to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. And so, in honor of the President, I will note that "many people say that Donald Trump is stupid."
Donald Trump embodies more sins and shortcomings than almost any American alive. However, actual stupidity is not one of them. Swan reports
In 2018, Gen. John Nicholson, then the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, accused Russia of providing money and arms to the group, saying, "we know that the Russians are involved."
Trump told “Axios on HBO” that he was not aware of
Nicholson’s comments, and said evidence that Russia was aiding the Taliban
“never reached my desk.”
Well, yes, but he stated also "I have heard that, but
again it's never reached my desk." Because he wasn't informed, Trump eludes responsibility but cannot be accused of being daft, suffering from dementia, or having advisors so
worried about his response (or lack thereof) that they'd keep critical
information from him.
Additionally, the President never actually claimed that he
wasn't advised of the intelligence, instead contending it "never reached
my desk." That may be accurate because the intelligence report
may never have been placed upon his desk. Trump
may have learned a thing or two about splitting hairs from Bill Barr, for whom
it works very well in congressional testimony.
(Something to look forward to whenever the USA gets its
first female President: most women are not as prone to using such deceptive
colloquialisms.)
It also may be splendid timing on the part of the President.
Swan effectively questioned the President on the intelligence report about
Putin's Russia. But the interview took place on Tuesday and thus the Axios guy
didn't have the opportunity to ask the interviewee about the military's announcement on
Wednesday that the USA will
cut by about a third
the 36,000-strong U.S. troop contingent in Germany, faulting the close U.S.
ally for failing to meet NATO’s defense spending target and accusing it of
taking advantage of the United States on trade.
President Trump thereby nurses his grudge against the country which is the largest (aside from the USA) contributor of developmental and military support to Afghanistan. It's "a slap in the face to a friend and ally," Senator Romney notes, and it further weakens the trans-Atlantic alliance, a major foreign policy tactic of Trump's friend and ally in the Kremlin.
It's highly unlikely that Trump had specifically asked the military to hold off on its announcement. Yet, the timing of the announcement benefits the commander-in-chief, an individual skilled at making known his desires and smart enough to understand their importance.
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