A dubious story about Russia paying bounties to the Taliban to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan appeared in the New York Times. It was sourced entirely to "American intelligence officials."

Former CIA operations director John Stockwell explained how Langley works the US media:

If the NYT story is somehow true – and it's hard to see why the Taliban needs any outside encouragement to fight an occupying army – the bounties could be seen as retaliation for the US strategy against Russia in Syria, as described here by former CIA director @MichaelJMorell

The story planted by US intel in the NYT sounds like the US playbook in Syria (and in Afghanistan from 1979-89).

Consider this exchange:

Charlie Rose: "We make them pay the price by killing Russians?"

@MichaelJMorell: "Yes."

"And killing Iranians?"

Morell: "Yes. Covertly."

Obtaining this "confirmation" required absolutely zero actual reporting.

WaPo's correspondents simply talked to the same "American intelligence officials" that planted the story w/ the NYT, or were furnished different ones who delivered the same story. https://twitter.com/John_Hudson/status/1276735865008656386?s=20

The shady Caesar file was dropped in the NYT a day before the UN's Geneva talks opened on Syria in 2014. Mueller released his indictment of GRU 3 days before Trump-Putin summit. US intel arranged its latest media plant with another peace summit looming. https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1277029908141703170?s=20