Was Trading Brittney Griner's release for the arms dealer worth it?

Of course they should careful. She, and many others, had been playing basketball off season, it was routine. They had no reason to fear.

She made an error, that's the long and short of it, and for this, you say she deserves being incarcerated, and we should make no effort to get her released?

Do you not understand that Putin is not going to give a symmetrical deal, ever? That means she was doomed to rot in a gulag for a crime she would not suffer in America.

I think that if the arms dealer had recently been incarcerated, you'd have a point, but he's served 12 years already, and sending him to russia, we can limit his movements, and via sanctions, his monetary flows. It will be very difficult for him to deal in the future on any large scale. If he so much as sets foot in any country outside of Russia where we have extradition treaties, we'll bust him again.

 

Okay, but Trump negotiated for the release of 5000 taliban prisoners and got nothing in exchange.

How about that one? .

 

https://www.statesman.com/story/new...-peace-deal-afghanistan-prisoners/5673035001/

Well not for nothing.

"According to the agreement, up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and up to 1,000 prisoners "of the other side" would be released by a specified timeline."

That negotiated release was part of the pullout that Biden botched. Since we already know you were ok with Biden pulling out of Afghanistan...allowing the Taliban to roll back in and subjugate and terrorize it's people...I guess you can't say **** about Trump trying to negotiate for a peaceful pullout?

And if I were a betting man I would wager that of those 1000 coming back to us, they were not selected based on race. Because you know? Contrary to dipshit progressive ideology...Trump isn't racist like your Biden is.

Oh you will be happy to know that Bout joined an ultra nationalist political party in Russia now.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia...rty-after-return-in-prisoner-swap-11670881652

LOL. Good jeb. We get a gay female b-ball player who can't dunk who hates America. So brave. So bold.

 

Pretty convenient for it to come out now. I thought you Trump supporters weren’t interested in second hand hearing. All through His presidency, everything that came out about what was going on was dealt with, “words aren’t proof,” or something.

It’s easy to claim, “so, yeah, this happened six years ago. I only mention it now to prove I did what I want you to believe happened.”

 

Anything to deflect from Biden.

 

Why would a negotiation that never went anywhere have to be reported?

 

You said that she "made an error." It seems like she committed a crime. Again, it wouldn't be a crime in the US but it's rule number one of foreign travelers to respect local law and custom.

As I've already said, it's not a matter of whether she "deserves" being incarcerated, it's simply that Griner, like thousands of other Americans rotting away in foreign jails, committed a crime in a foreign country. The question is, should the US negotiate to release other Americans locked up for possession or other crimes? We don't of course, only this particular one.

It's a trade that makes no logical sense, but I can't speak to the emotional pull this has on you, since you don't seem to be able to make a case on why this case is more important than all the thousands of other Americans in foreign jails. This seems like it's a typical view of celebrity, that they are like royalty, and therefore it's an outrage that she actually faced consequences of her actions.

 

I'm not going to debate what is and is not jail-worthy. In Russia, CBD oil is just that. Whether the Russians might have "let it slide" is a fair question. But their "opportunity to give America a headache" should have made Griner more careful, not less.

 

In what sense and how do you know? How valuable this guy is to Putin? Was Griner was set up? Why did Griner pled guilty? Was Whelan in play? Was Whelan a spy as they claim? We don't know how trading prisoners with them impacts their desire or interest in grabbing other Americans or even our allies' citizens. We had China grabbing two Canadians because they arrested a Huawei executive at our request.

The media, right across the political spectrum, has whipped this up into a conflict, stoked by both sides willingness to grandstand.

I'm coming from a place of nausea over images of Bush rushing to New York after 9-11, him with the bullhorn babbling about how "You'll hear from us!", to Obama sitting it a situation room supposedly turning his image around by taking out bin Laden, to Trump supposedly saving the peace by going mano a mano with Kim, and now to Biden getting Griner out.

Rather than respond by all of us going tribal over this stuff, how about just saying we don't know and making other issues where we deal with differences?

 

the USA lost.

 

To me, this is a nonsensical standard. I would venture to guess that most people would trade Osama Bin Laden, the Lockerbie Bomber, and Giselle Maxwell for their daughter.

Sincerely, what kind of a standard is that?

 

It's technically a crime in Russia, true, but does that make her a criminal?

No, it doesn't, she didn't mean to bring it into the country.

America should do whatever we can to help as many as we can.

 

In almost any other circumstance involving an American overseas breaking foreign laws; yes, it would make you a criminal. No one is helping those thousands in jail all over the world, and your argument ultimately seems to be it's different if a celebrity (or semi-celebrity) does it. That may make perfect sense to you, but it doesn't to me.

 

My argument does not require celebrity. I only mentioned it because it is logical that Putin was motivated by the politics of she being an American celebrity.

AS for the thousand of others 'all over the world', what do you actually know about it? I can't say that I do, do you? I heard there were 60.

 

The estimates are 40-50 (although it could be 60) people who we believe were unjustly charged and convicted. Thousands in which there are no such questions.

You apparently believe that Griner wasn't actually guilty of committing a crime and this was just a political hit by Putin to tweak the US and Griner was just an unfortunate casualty of great power politics. I've seen nothing in the news reporting that makes that case. As far as I can tell, she committed a crime and pleaded guilty. You may feel differently however.

 

Respectfully, it does not matter what you would do for your loved one. The question should be, what is it worth to the American citizens that Griner be released from prison? When you start talking about what you would/wouldn't do if it was your family member, you are introducing a conflict of interest to a situation where there is none.

The consideration is this: Will the terrorist that was released put (even one) American lives at risk?

If the answer is yes, bad deal.

But I am glad she is home.

 

Cannabis laws in the Russian Federation are some of the most restrictive in the world.

The use, possession, sale, cultivation, and transportation of cannabis are illegal under Russian law. Penalties for these offenses can range from a monetary fine to up to 15 years in prison.
https://herb.co/learn/russian-law-on-hashish-oil-everything-you-need-to-know/

As I said when the prisoner exchange was announced, Griner was reckless and irresponsible for allowing Putin to use her as a bargaining chip. If she wasn't aware of Russian law that's her fault. What foreigner who works in Russia doesn't inform themselves on drug laws? Is the law overly punitive? Yes. But now she is partly responsible for the US letting a very bad actor go.

 

I have seen that you have repeatedly made this assertion. On what are you basing your conclusion that she did not mean to bring it into the country?

 

Somehow I'm not surprised this happened