Paul Whelan I've learned has US, British, Irish and Canadian passports and citizenship.....he's not just our problem....don't see folks bashing the Irish or Canadians or Brits for failing to bring him home.there's actually a good chance he is a spy, which would explain why Russia doesn't want to let him go. Bout had a 25 year sentence and had served 14 years of it already...had 11 years left on it.
Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years for transporting cannabis vape cartridges into Russia https://www.salon.com/2022/08/04/br...r-transporting-cannabis-vape-cartridges-into/ Russia used Griner as a political pawn for a prisoner swap. Which they have now gotten.
Not for me. I never brought him up until you guys did. I wouldn't have traded Bort for Whelan. I think Griner was clearly getting fucked over, but Whelan is another story. I don't know what's going on in his case. It's not a clear cut story like Griner. But either way, I'm not trading a dangerous arms dealer for either one of them.
Bort has been in US custody for over a decade. At this point, he is not very likely to be a real danger for a long time if ever. I wish we did not have to do the exchange and Griner certainly could have been more careful - but given the opportunity to do it, I am glad we did. If you have ever seen Americans around the world, too often we believe everything works exactly as we expect it to work in the US. Maybe some good will come out of it and more Americans will be more careful when getting out of the country.
To me, it all depends on why the Russians wanted him back. Are they going to punish him? Or are they looking to leverage his skillset because they need weapons?
Who the hell said she's not partially responsible? She's more than paid for any mistake she made in seeking supplemental income in Russia.
I am willing to bet it is a publicity stunt, just like the initial arrest was. Putin is under pressure at home, he can now show his people that he is behind them hoping they will forget he is forcing a lot of them to fight in a war they do not want.
If Russia wants to finish cutting their nose off that's on them. There is nothing this guy can do to make Russia a bigger threat than they already are.
Yes. This has been pretty clear all along. Now he can stay in Russia the rest of his life. Which will likely end with him accidentally falling out of a 5th story building when he fails Putin.
This just isn't correct. Russia is desperate for munitions and weaponry. They're pulling tanks out of museums for pete's sake. They're having to go to Iran and North Korea for weapons. If this guy can help supply them with anything, he will be actively costing people's lives in Ukraine.
He'll probably get back in the biz and link up with "the gang". To assume he's just going to ride away into the sunset is pretty ludicrous. Trading him was pretty short-sighted, but Russia had all the leverage and used it due to the social demands to free Griner.
I imagine Russia will put him to work right away, trying to secure more weapons for their illegal war.
I don't see it. Where is he going to get them? You don't think the people he knows were already reaching out to Putin for the fat paycheck? They replaced him long ago. They wanted him back to prevent the US from using him as an advisor. That's it.
I guess we should just round up all of the rich and kill them then, right? Or just put them all in jail as sex slaves (which is very possibly how Griner's time in Russia could have gone). It's cool. They make over $200k
Phatguysrule nailed it. Griner's alleged crime depends on Russia's word. This is nothing more than, consciously or not, repetition of right wing talking points. When previous guy released 5000 Taliban, not in a trade, for nothing, there were no comments about the risk to Americans although arguably 5000 Taliban are more dangerous than one washed up arms dealer. Nor did we hear about the threat to America when he sprung a convicted Russian spy for no one because she is pretty and said nice things about him. All of a sudden there is a terrible threat to America because 1. A Democratic president made the deal and 2. A Black lesbian was released. Whose life matters? If she was a pretty straight white girl would we be hearing about her release wasn't worth it?
Wow.... yeah that's exactly what I said. Grow up. I'm not going to feel sorry for someone who makes over $200k a year needing to "supplement their income" by playing in a shithole like Russia.
God I would hate to go through life with the massive victim complex that you have. Not everyone is out to get you.
