新一轮“通俄门”来临？ 美称俄罗斯资助阿富汗激进分子杀害美军_风闻

作者：兰顺正

首发自：CGTN

在6月26日，美国《纽约时报》爆出惊人之语，称俄罗斯资助与塔利班关联的激进分子并鼓励其杀害当地美军及其他联军部队，引得舆论一片哗然。

报道称，美国情报机构官员得出结论，俄罗斯军事情报机构秘密向与塔利班相关的激进分子提供了赏金，以鼓励后者在阿富汗和谈期间，对包括美军在内的驻阿联军部队发动袭击。而且报道还把矛头对准了美国高层，据所谓“了解此事的白宫官员”的话说，特朗普和彭斯早已听取了有关情报和调查结果的简报，白宫国家安全委员会曾在今年3月底曾就这一问题举行了会议，但白宫尚未授权对俄罗斯采取任何行动。

目前，相关消息的真实性还没有得到证实，但是美媒在这样敏感的时机抛出这样的猛料，其背后用意绝对耐人寻味。

直观看来，美方此举似乎是在“祸水外引”。现在的美国正可谓“多事之秋”，由于对新冠肺炎的防治不力以及种族矛盾等，导致美国国内局势混乱，社会问题频发。而把国内的问题放到国外解决也是美国惯用的伎俩之一，这一点在新冠疫情爆发初期美国甩锅中国时表现的淋漓尽致。此次美方指责俄罗斯时驻阿美军遇害的幕后黑手，在一定程度上确实可以起到转移民众视线的作用。一方面，阿富汗问题久拖不决，早已成为美国的心病。虽然在近日有消息称美国已经按照与阿富汗塔利班达成的协议完成第一阶段撤军，但是其中依然存在着不少变数。另一方面，俄罗斯本就是美国在全球的主要竞争对手之一，况且这些年俄罗斯在阿富汗的影响力也在不断上升。因此给俄罗斯“扣帽子”以挑起美俄矛盾这个老话题，有助于让美国民众一致对外，减轻对于国内政府的责难。果不其然的是，在随后俄罗斯方面就立刻予以了回击，怒斥这一报道为“假新闻”，并称“这个生硬的故事生动说明了美国情报机构宣传人员智力低下”。而该报道也再度引发了美国部分国会议员制裁俄罗斯的呼吁。如美国众议院外交事务委员会资深成员、共和党众议员迈克尔·麦考尔一份声明中称，“如果消息属实，美国政府必须迅速采取严肃行动，让俄罗斯对此负责”。

不过从深层角度分析，美媒的此番报道还有着很浓的“内斗”意味，是在给已经焦头烂额的特朗普政府施加更大的压力。回想当年，自从特朗普当选美国总统，其竞选团队就不断被指控"通俄"，虽然在2019年3月，历时2年多的“通俄门”调查结束，证实美国总统特朗普以及他的家人都不存在通俄，但是该事件对于特朗普的负面影响是不言而喻的。而此次的报道中指出，特朗普在明知俄罗斯与塔利班激进分子勾连并杀害驻阿美军的情况下却毫无作为，分明是在影射特朗普是俄罗斯的“帮凶”，与当时的“通俄门”指控如出一辙。再联想到2020年的美国大选已经不远，因此这时爆出这样的消息对于试图连任的特朗普绝不是好事。如美国民主党总统候选人小约瑟夫（乔）·拜登随即落井下石，表示若报道属实，“那真是曝光了一个令人震惊的事实”。他还抨击特朗普称，特朗普作为三军总司令却不敢勇敢面对俄罗斯，无法在阿富汗保护美军。其言下之意就是：一个在俄罗斯面前怯弱的人，怎么能当好美国的总统？

为了挽回影响，特朗普方面同样反应迅速。白宫新闻秘书凯莉·麦克纳尼在报道见光的当天就否认了报道中的有关内容。她在一份声明中说，中央情报局局长、国家安全事务助理和白宫办公厅主任均确认特朗普和副总统彭斯未获悉相关情报。在6月28日，特朗普发布推文，再次就《纽约时报》报道的内容做出否认，并再次抨击该媒体是“假新闻”。特朗普在推文中说：“没有人比特朗普政府对俄罗斯更强硬了”， “这可能只是另一个‘虚假时报’的热门作品，就像他们失败的通俄门骗局一样。”

综上，随着新一轮“通俄门”的来临，本已复杂的美国国内局势将会变得更加风起云涌。

（以下为英文原版）

A new round of ‘Russia-gate’?

On June 26, the New York Times caused a stir when it published a startling claim that Russia was financing Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan and encouraging them to kill American and other coalition forces there.

U.S. intelligence officials concluded that Russian military intelligence secretly offered rewards to Taliban-linked militants to encourage them to launch attacks on coalition forces, including U.S. troops, during peace talks in Afghanistan, the report said.

At present, the authenticity of the relevant information has not been confirmed, but the U.S. media exposed such sensitive material at such a sensitive time, making people question the intention.

Intuitively, this seems to be an act of mischief. The U.S. is in a “troubled time,” with its domestic situation in turmoil and social problems caused by inadequate response to COVID-19 and racial tensions. It is also a common trick of the country to solve problems at home and abroad, which was fully demonstrated in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This time, the U.S. side blames Russia for the killing of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. To a certain extent, it can indeed divert the public’s attention. On the one hand, Afghanistan has long been a headache for Washington. Despite recent news that the U.S. has completed the first phase of its troop withdrawal under an agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan, many uncertainties remain.

On the other hand, Russia is already a major global competitor to the U.S., and its influence in Afghanistan has been on the rise in recent years. Therefore, the old topic of “labeling” Russia to provoke conflicts between Washington and Moscow can help to make the American people unite with the outside world and reduce the censure on the domestic government.

Sure enough, the Russians immediately hit back, blasting the report as “fake news” and saying that “this blunt story vividly illustrates the low intelligence of the propagandists of the U.S. intelligence services.” The report has revived calls by some members of Congress for sanctions against Russia. As Representative Michael McCaul, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that if this is true, the U.S. government must take swift and serious action to hold Russia accountable.

But from a deeper perspective, the U.S. media report also has a strong sense of “infighting,” which is to put more pressure on the beleaguered Trump administration. Back then, during the 2016 presidential election, his campaign was accused of “colluding” with Russians to sway the election. Although Trump and his campaign have repeatedly denied their relationship with Russia, the negative impact of the event on Trump is self-evident.

Afghan security personnel inspect the site of a truck bomb attack in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, Afghanistan, May 14, 2020. /AFP

And this time, Trump did nothing while knowing that Russia had linked up with Taliban militants and killed U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to the report. It clearly implied that Trump was Russia’s “accomplice,” which is similar to the “Russia-gate” accusation at that time. Considering that the U.S. election in 2020 is not far away, it is not good news for Trump who is trying to win a second term.

For example, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that if the report is true, it contains a “truly shocking revelation” about Trump for not standing up to Russia and protecting U.S. troops in Afghanistan as commander-in-chief. The implication: How can a man who is timid with Russia be President of the U.S.?

Trump, too, has been quick to undo the damage. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied the report on Saturday. She said in a statement that the director of the CIA, the National Security Adviser and the White House Chief of Staff all confirmed that neither Trump or Vice President Mike Pence was briefed on “the alleged Russian bounty intelligence.”

On Sunday, Trump tweeted, again denying the content of the New York Times story and slamming it as “fake news.” “Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump administration,” Trump tweeted.

With the advent of a new “Russia-gate,” it seems that the already complicated domestic situation in the U.S. will become more turbulent.