Letter to the Honorable James Mattis, Secretary of US Department of Defense - Russian Support of Taliban in Afghanistan

Letter

Dear Secretary Mattis:

I write to request a comprehensive briefing on Russian efforts to arm the Taliban in Afghanistan. This issue is of urgent and growing importance at a time of increasingly lethal Taliban attacks on Afghan forces and of mounting Russian hostility toward U.S. interests around the world.

Recent, highly successful Taliban attacks -- including the April 21st raid that reportedly killed as many as 140 Afghan security personnel -- pose a clear threat to the Afghan National Security Forces, the over 8,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan, other U.S. Government personnel and contractors, and to the long term stability of the Afghan state. If this threat is augmented by the willful actions of the Russian Government, Congress needs to know.

As you are aware, this issue came to light during your recent trip to Afghanistan. While I am encouraged by your public assessment that any arms shipments to forces arrayed against the Government of Afghanistan would be in violation of international law, I am eager to hear from your Department about the nature of such arms transfers, current efforts to stop them, and how Russia's support for the Taliban fits into a larger Russian policy of antagonism around the globe.

Thank you for attention to this request.

Sincerely,

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