The Real Russian Mission in Afghanistan

By Steven L. Hall

Steven L. Hall retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2015 after 30 years of running and managing intelligence operations in Eurasia and Latin America.  Mr. Hall served as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service, the small cadre of officers who are the senior-most leaders of the CIA's Clandestine Service.  Most of Mr. Hall's career was spent abroad, overseeing intelligence operations in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former Warsaw Pact.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is focusing on reported intelligence that Russia placed bounties on the lives of US troops in Afghanistan. The committee is expected to hold a hearing on Thursday titled, “Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops: Why Hasn’t the Administration Responded?”  On Friday, the committee will address the broader issue of managing the Russian threat in a session with former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

The Cipher Brief spoke with our expert, former Senior CIA Officer Steven Hall, who spent much of his career focused on the Russia threat, to get some ground truth in terms of Russian strategies in Afghanistan and elsewhere and to get his thoughts on what to make of the latest news that bounties were placed on the lives of US troops in Afghanistan.  Hall also served as CIA’s senior liaison to Congressional oversight committees during the course of his career.

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