POLL: Should the US trade Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner?

No mention of Marc Fogel, the US teacher imprisoned in Russia for MJ? Where is his justice here? Is it because he is a white male that isn't an athlete?

American teacher Marc Fogel's family fears he'll be left behind in Russian prison, as U.S.-Russia swap talks start - CBS News

Like women's basketball star Brittney Griner, U.S. teacher Marc Fogel is doing labor in a Russian prison after attempting to enter the country with medical marijuana. But the State Department has not publicly mentioned Fogel's name in connection with a proposed prisoner swap with Russia, as it has with two-time Olympian Griner and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been held in Russia for about two years after being sentenced to 16 years for spy charges that he denies.

On Thursday, a Russian diplomat confirmed to Russian media that prisoner exchange talks have started. Fogel's niece Kelly Leguineche said State Department officials have not explained why her uncle has not been factored into those discussions or classified as "wrongfully detained" by the U.S. government, a step that allows the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs to start negotiations for release.

"It's devastating because it feels like this was our last opportunity to save his life, and we just couldn't get the momentum we needed for it to matter to them," Leguineche said.
....................................................
When Fogel was arrested last summer in Russia, State Department officials advised his family to keep a low profile and hope for a lenient sentence, according to Leguineche. But after 60-year-old Fogel was handed a 14-year sentence in June, his family switched tactics to try to draw attention to his case. His niece launched an online petition to try to generate for her uncle a fraction of the political pressure that arose from the outcry by Griner's fans and family about the WNBA star's plight.

 

do you differentiate between guns and missiles capable of bring down passenger aircraft?

While I do agree that gun laws in the US make it too easy to traffic them, it must be put into context that selling an ak 47 is much different than selling a stinger missile

 

Let’s not be willfully naive. They understand the future of their family member is tied at least partly to how much the Biden Administration is willing to push this matter. The Biden Administration, clearly understanding how unfair this situation appears, communicated with the Whalen family in advance of the news breaking. Is it really that hard to imagine that, however subtly, the Administration got it across that the Whalen family raising hell on the issue was in neither party’s interest? I oppose this deal for reasons already clearly stated, but if I was a Whalen family member I like to think I would have the good sense to be diplomatic and tactful, too. In the end, I would just want my family back, and if that means setting aside my right to emote in order to not piss off the Administration that gets to decide how much to act in the future, then that’s what I would do.

 

and Marc Fogel? arrested for wed, in prison longer than Griner, still there. 60 years old, less likely to survive, but hey, he is a white old guy with no PR machine so let's not mention him?

 

Not really. There are a variety of reasons that far more death and destruction is caused by guns than missiles, and it isn't the lack of availability of heavier weaponry in war zones. It is a combination of willingness by the international community to accept large amounts of gun violence (whereas rocket attacks on passenger airlines would likely result in more of a response), the difficulty in actually taking down a passenger airline even with a missile (especially compared to a hijacking or a traditional bombing), and the fact that taking down a passenger plane is often an act with limited motive. The Iranian shooting down of the Ukrainian plane comes to mind, but that was, by all accounts, a mistake where they thought it was a cruise missile.

 

Viktor Bout isn’t posing a threat because he’s going to steal folks’ shotguns or straw purchase Glocks. The threat he poses is that he deals in actual military hardware.

The transaction that he was ultimately imprisoned for was him trying to sell 100 Igla missiles (the Russian version of the Stinger) to a narcoterrorist organization that had expressly said they wanted them to shoot down US military planes assisting Colombia in a drug surveillance operation.

 

politically correct statemen to not anger the politicians that they are dependent upon to do something to help

 

Literally never heard of this guy until now? There was a girl on vacation with her family that did the same thing Griner did and basically just paid a fine to resolve it. It seems their system can be just as arbitrary as ours depending on the offender and their circumstances.

 

publicly they are, of course they are reliant on the admin to do something and angering them likely doesn't help their case

 

does it matter that their "soldiers" are invading a free country and raping and pillaging said country while doing their best to destroy everything of value or should they just be allowed to do that unabated? You act like Ukraine is invading Russia here

 

Well good thing we imprisoned him and went on to win the War on Drugs, its a shame this might reverse all our hard won progress on stopping illegal drugs.

 

then you weren't paying attention because he was brought up early in this discussion. Should Griner have been brought home before him?

 

yet. then again, an airplane never flew into the WTC or the pentagon, until it did

 

Of course it matters, but dont those facts already put Americans at risk at the hands of Russians? Why should we do sanctions and aid and put Americans at risk, but not exchange one prisoner which you says does the same thing? Why are you viewing it in isolation? If I travel to Russia and break some petty law, they can possibly use me as leverage to ease sanctions too.

 

Who Is Marc Fogel? American Remains Detained in Russia as Griner Released (newsweek.com)

But another name, one that has not garnered as much attention as Griner and Whelan, was also highlighted on social media in light of Griner's release.

"Please don't forget about Marc Fogel," Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, tweeted Thursday. "I knew Marc when I was U.S. Ambassador to Russia. He was a teacher to many of our diplomats and soldiers. He is a real patriot. We must fight for his release as well."

Fogel worked as a history teacher for years at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where his students included the children of U.S. diplomats, CNN reported.

He was arrested in August 2021 at a Moscow airport after entering the country with roughly 17 grams of cannabis that his family and lawyer said was prescribed by a doctor in the U.S. to treat chronic pain. His case holds an interesting parallel to that of Griner, who was arrested in February this year for allegedly possessing cannabis oil when she arrived in Moscow.

 

supplying arms has not put Americans at risk.

should america help free countries defend themselves from tyrannically, murderous regimes?

 

That's quite a bit of weed! It would certainly get you an intent to distribute charge here.

 

Given a choice between what the family actually said and what you claim they really think ... I'm probably going with the family.
No offense.

 

17 grams isn’t that a little less than an ounce?