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

I get irritated when the press uses terms like ‘trumped up charges’ or ‘politically motivated.’ She admitted bringing drugs into Russia. Russia is not liberal about stuff like this, same as lots of other countries not named USA.

Got no problem with her release except the price the US had to pay. And Whelan still being there. Hmmm…guess I’m not a fan of it after all.

 

I am devastated that you don't approve of me and think I'm not a good American or human being.
You want to protest, protest all you want, well as long as it is mostly peaceful. As an American I can disagree with your protest, and I can think the one thing to not protest is our National Anthem and the honoring of the Men and Women who fought and fight regularly for your right to protest and MY RIGHT TO THINK THAT IS NOT THE PLACE TO PROTEST.
Carry on. Let me go back to my bad American and bad Human Being hole.

 

Wonder why the same right-wingers with Phony outrage actually tried to stop Biden from freeing former Marine Trevor Reed in April of 2022.

 

Good place for vermin. You should be comfortable there.

 

Intriguing nut I thought “the most notorious arms dealer on the planet” was the US ?

The Story of Two Videos and a Curious Edit in the Griner/Bout Exchange

 

Perhaps he's a moderate conservative with principles.

 

Sick burn by Whelan’s brother on Trump. I see the no nothing knuckle dragging troglodytes opining on Whelan over Griner have finally been shamed in to silence.

Edit that take is a stretch - not capable of shame just gathering energy for the next outrage.

 

Well, Trump didn’t do anything about Assange either.

 

Not a fan of Donald Trump. Didn't vote for him (I actually voted for Biden in '20).

 

Whelen got (edit) a bad conduct discharge from the Marines for theft and fraud and holds citizenship in 4 countries including the U.S.
I'm ambivalent about the trade but this guy is no hero*.

*It is not unreasonable to consider that his background that I mentioned above is a manufactured cover for clandestine work in which case he may be a hero.

 

Isn’t it 30 grams to the ounce roughly which would make it a little more than half an Oz.

 

He lives in Minnesota - we need to wait

 

Agree that Whelan is no hero, but as long as we’re characterizing his service, let’s be accurate: he was awarded a bad conduct discharge, not a dishonorable discharge. There is a distinction, the latter being worse, though both are pretty bad if you’re looking for a new job.

 

Thanks and you're correct.

 

What I think everybody is missing is that the right wingers whining about this trade have it backwards. It wasn’t the US prioritizing Griners release over others. From Putins standpoint the optics of holding Griner, a black woman athlete, was worse.

 

Why would a man who invaded another country over imaginary Nazis (while operating torture centers and bombing schools and hospitals) care about "optics"?

 

If he is an intel asset, it is possible that his discharge was part of his cover

Does anybody care about Marc Fogel? His case seems to be lost in all of this. The US gubmnt has not even been willing to list him as unlawfully detained, let alone try and get him released

 

28 grams to the Oz

 

Perhaps he doesn’t but these countries often like to opine on our racial issues as a talking point, plus from a macho perspective holding a woman tends to look weak.

Maybe not. Just a theory.

 

I don't know why you'd get irritated. They were indeed trumped up, politically motivated charges. Nobody said she didn't break any law. But the severity of her charges and sentence were due to her being a useful political prisoner.