+1 and Whelan is a Trump fan. He must be disappointed. |
Yes he missed out of Jan 6th and the Canadian trucker strike. |
1. Arms dealers like to operate without an international profile. 2. He was probably better off in a US prison than in Russia. He offers nothing of value to Putin and his oligarchs. 3. There isn’t a major surplus of high-quality arms for him to traffic. Putin can’t supply his own mobilized forces. 4. International banking restrictions and sanctions also limit his ability to be a bad actor. |
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I think the swap was a mistake and not in the best interest of our country. But, put yourself in the parents' shoes - my baby didn't do anything. It's just marijuana. She's innocent.
I hope she learned from that and don't mess up her life again in another country or in the U.S.A. I also think the Russians are not going to release a former marine who was also working for them whether he knew it or not. He knows too much of both sides. Russians gain nothing keeping her. They also lose nothing returning her. |
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The Bush Administration paid Bout upwards of $60 million to fly supplies to Iraq on his airplanes. The more you know …
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Blotter/story?id=4400141&page=1 |
Failing!!!! NO failing was Trump stealing $4 million from the 9/11 first responders fund. 9/11 you moron. And then money laundering for the Saudi's that flew planes into the towers and took down planes. i'm sorry you are standing with the party that does not support the Constitution so American of you! Leave the US move to Russia you will be happy with bread lines idiot. |
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Any person on this thread that thinks Biden is not good enough compared to DON THE CON.
Leave the US you are not an American you are a cult member and you will get your wish when SCOTUS guts us threw Moore vs Harper. The US will die a horrific death. You think we have things like inflation you are not paying attention. Republicans have zero policies but to raise taxes, take social security, and grift like they have been doing MAGA idiots not reading the fine print when you give them monies. Shame on all of you. Where is the GOP health plan? Why did Republicans vote time and time against our veterans? Why are Republicans changing the way we vote in Arizona since 1991? Brittany is back deal with it. God help us because MAGA idiots have and will destroy us and by the way the national religion is not going to be basic Christianity morons. SCOTUS has it's own plans and since maga can not do math they can not figure out the common demominator. |
He’s not a Marine. He is an ex-marine. He received a bad conduct discharge. He’s no great American hero. |
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Bout is not going to go right back to what he was doing. He's been in prison for 10 years. All of his customer base has found new dealers in the interim and he now has the mark as "that guy who got busted by the Americans." Potential customers are going to find someone less stained and more current on how the arms world is going. He's been out of the game too long. I think the handwringing about what a villain he is, is overblown. Yes, he's a bad guy. The world is full of bad guys. He's not bin Laden or Pol Pot. He's a generic mercenary.
This was not a catastrophic exchange beyond the irritant factor of the Russians getting something they wanted. I'm not sure standing on principle to avoid that and letting Griner languish in a penal colony for being a pawn in a game she probably didn't understand is worth it and am fine with the swap. Whelan's case is much more complicated than it appears and I'm not at all sure how innocent he really was. |
He’s a spy. Canadian born, US., British, Irish and Canadian citizenship. Where are his other countries? Why are they not trying? |
When I read sUch idiotic posts, I am reminded why Trump was ever elected President. Too many Americans are morons. |
| The idea that Bout is the equivalent of Avon Barksdale returning to reclaim his corners in West B’more is quaint. The man has been sidelined from the arms trade for 15 years. There isn’t some vast cache of weapons sitting around Russia like there was after the fall of the USSR. Putin has his hands full with Ukraine and NATO, even without giving credence to reports of his failing health, while China is taking a muscular commercial role in Africa that isn’t welcoming of Russian political meddling and shadowy arms dealing. |
+1 |
Whelan himself said Biden made the right move. |