This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareRussian bounties offered to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan are believed to have resulted in the deaths of several U.S. service members, according to intelligence gleaned from U.S. military interrogations of captured militants in recent months.Several people familiar with the matter said it was unclear exactly how many Americans or coalition troops from other countries may have been killed or targeted under the program. U.S. forces in Afghanistan suffered a total of 10 deaths from hostile...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareRussian bounties offered to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan are believed to have resulted in the deaths of several U.S. service members, according to intelligence gleaned from U.S. military interrogations of captured militants in recent months.Several people familiar with the matter said it was unclear exactly how many Americans or coalition troops from other countries may have been killed or targeted under the program. U.S. forces in Afghanistan suffered a total of 10 deaths from hostile...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareWhite House officials were first informed in early 2019 of intelligence reports that Russia was offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition military personnel in Afghanistan, but the information was deemed sketchy and in need of additional confirmation, according to people familiar with the matter.Several discussions were held with members of the National Security Council staff on the reports, which had been flagged as potentially significant and came at a time of growing tensions between...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareWhite House officials were first informed in early 2019 of intelligence reports that Russia was offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition military personnel in Afghanistan, but the information was deemed sketchy and in need of additional confirmation, according to people familiar with the matter.Several discussions were held with members of the National Security Council staff on the reports, which had been flagged as potentially significant and came at a time of growing tensions between...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareChinese and Iranian government hackers have targeted the Gmail accounts of staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, respectively, Google announced Thursday.There were no signs the accounts were compromised, a Google threat analyst said in a tweet Thursday, and law enforcement was notified.The disclosure is a fresh reminder that nation states are actively seeking to gain access to presidential campaigns — a practice that has taken place in every presidential election dating back more...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareChinese and Iranian government hackers have targeted the Gmail accounts of staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, respectively, Google announced Thursday.There were no signs the accounts were compromised, a Google threat analyst said in a tweet Thursday, and law enforcement was notified.The disclosure is a fresh reminder that nation states are actively seeking to gain access to presidential campaigns — a practice that has taken place in every presidential election dating back more...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareHouse Democratic leaders abandoned plans to pass a significant surveillance overhaul package on Thursday as the measure fell victim to presidential tweets, opposition from the Justice Department and the fracturing of a fragile coalition among liberals, moderates and conservatives.House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said the bill would be indefinitely withdrawn, citing new Republican opposition prompted by President Trump. His announcement came hours after leaders pulled the bill from a scheduled vote Wednesday...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareHouse Democratic leaders abandoned plans to pass a significant surveillance overhaul package on Thursday as the measure fell victim to presidential tweets, opposition from the Justice Department and the fracturing of a fragile coalition among liberals, moderates and conservatives.House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said the bill would be indefinitely withdrawn, citing new Republican opposition prompted by President Trump. His announcement came hours after leaders pulled the bill from a scheduled vote Wednesday...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe State Department last month revoked the visa of a Ukrainian political fixer who aided President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in his gambit last year to dig up information from Ukraine that would damage former vice president Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to U.S. officials.The revocation of Ukrainian fixer Andrii Telizhenko’s visa comes as U.S. officials crack down on Russian efforts to influence the November vote. The revocation, which hasn’t previously been reported, came shortly before...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe State Department last month revoked the visa of a Ukrainian political fixer who aided President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in his gambit last year to dig up information from Ukraine that would damage former vice president Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to U.S. officials.The revocation of Ukrainian fixer Andrii Telizhenko’s visa comes as U.S. officials crack down on Russian efforts to influence the November vote. The revocation, which hasn’t previously been reported, came shortly before...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareU.S. officials accused China on Tuesday of sponsoring criminal hackers who are targeting biotech firms around the world working on coronavirus vaccines and treatments, as the FBI said the Chinese government was acting like “an organized criminal syndicate.”In an indictment unsealed in Spokane, Wash., the Justice Department charged two former engineering students with hacking companies engaged in high-tech manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and gaming software development, and with targeting dissidents, clergy and human rights...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareU.S. officials accused China on Tuesday of sponsoring criminal hackers who are targeting biotech firms around the world working on coronavirus vaccines and treatments, as the FBI said the Chinese government was acting like “an organized criminal syndicate.”In an indictment unsealed in Spokane, Wash., the Justice Department charged two former engineering students with hacking companies engaged in high-tech manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and gaming software development, and with targeting dissidents, clergy and human rights...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBEIJING — China on Friday ordered the United States to shut its in response to the American closure of China’s equivalent branch in Houston, another escalation in the dispute between the world’s two largest economies.While analysts in China called the retaliation measured, they said there was no end in sight to a conflict that spans trade and technology, and religion, students and scientists, human rights and the .“Even though the relationship is worsening, we have not yet reached the worst point,” said Cheng Xiaohe, a...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBEIJING — China on Friday ordered the United States to shut its in response to the American closure of China’s equivalent branch in Houston, another escalation in the dispute between the world’s two largest economies.While analysts in China called the retaliation measured, they said there was no end in sight to a conflict that spans trade and technology, and religion, students and scientists, human rights and the .“Even though the relationship is worsening, we have not yet reached the worst point,” said Cheng Xiaohe, a...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump has acknowledged in an interview with a Washington Post columnist that he ordered a clandestine military cyberstrike against Russian trolls in 2018 to disrupt their Internet access during the midterm elections.Asked by columnist Marc Thiessen whether he had authorized the operation, Trump said “Correct,” according to a piece posted Friday.Until now, neither the White House nor the Pentagon had publicly confirmed the operation, which had been classified.Trump sought to frame his action as an example of...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump has acknowledged in an interview with a Washington Post columnist that he ordered a clandestine military cyberstrike against Russian trolls in 2018 to disrupt their Internet access during the midterm elections.Asked by columnist Marc Thiessen whether he had authorized the operation, Trump said “Correct,” according to a piece posted Friday.Until now, neither the White House nor the Pentagon had publicly confirmed the operation, which had been classified.Trump sought to frame his action as an example of...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThree Republican senators on Wednesday made public a declassified list of U.S. officials, including former vice president Joe Biden, who made requests that would ultimately “unmask” Trump adviser Michael Flynn in intelligence documents in late 2016 and early 2017 — a common government practice but one that some conservatives have seized on to imply wrongdoing.The list includes the names of more than three dozen former Obama administration officials. Among them are Biden, former White House chief of staff Denis McDonough,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThree Republican senators on Wednesday made public a declassified list of U.S. officials, including former vice president Joe Biden, who made requests that would ultimately “unmask” Trump adviser Michael Flynn in intelligence documents in late 2016 and early 2017 — a common government practice but one that some conservatives have seized on to imply wrongdoing.The list includes the names of more than three dozen former Obama administration officials. Among them are Biden, former White House chief of staff Denis McDonough,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe White House is not planning an immediate response to intelligence reports of Russian bounties given to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan because President Trump does not believe the reports are true or “actionable,” according to two senior administration officials.Trump is not convinced he should do anything about the bounty issue, which he decried in a Wednesday morning tweet as “just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party.”...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe White House is not planning an immediate response to intelligence reports of Russian bounties given to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan because President Trump does not believe the reports are true or “actionable,” according to two senior administration officials.Trump is not convinced he should do anything about the bounty issue, which he decried in a Wednesday morning tweet as “just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party.”...WW…