Should U.S. Swap ‘Merchant of Death’ for Brittney Griner?

[EasternVol]

Yeah.

We all should be happy that a Russian weapon terrorist is free.

Putin is laughing at this trade.

He's far from the only one. This administration does some fantastically stupid things.

 

[MercyPercy]

Reasonable. But I will counter with "does it hurt anything?"

There really isn't any harm in the anthem before an event and it really has only become an issue in recent years. Quite frankly, with bull-**** reasons behind it being an issue in my opinion. But it doesn't hurt anything for the 90 or so seconds it takes.

To me, I don't see it as a nationalistic "pep rally" and more of a part of our culture. It's something that just is.

If you're asking me personally if it hurts anything for me, no, I already stated I don't think it's a big deal either way. Do it, don't do it, it's no skin off my back. I just feel similarly about people who decide they don't want to participate for whatever reason they choose. What people do or don't do during the anthem has no effect on me. I'm not upset by it and I don't demonize them. I'm there to watch a game.

 

[EasternVol]

Why is the National Anthem played at sporting events?

Indoctrination

 

[mrorange211]

You just refuse to discuss how bad of a deal this was. I’m glad she’s out but we got bent over in this deal.

No. I refuse to argue with you. there's a difference.

 

[Orangeburst]

Me, too, its a very uplifting moment at any event and I always stand for it.

But that includes a right to decline to do so and if someone makes that choice it does not particularly bother me.

Why has this taken off so much the last few years? Nothing like millionaire athletes all butt hurt and provided to them by our system, being so disrespectful.
It is deeper than kneeling..it is nothing but disrespectful protest..which is fine. These people feel this nation was ill founded and built on white supremacy.
But if they want to be *****..then I have the right to say they are misplaced and entitled bitches.

 

[Electric Orange]

Saudis Take Credit for Griner Prisoner Swap Between U.S. and Russia

 

[VolFreakJosh]

No. I refuse to argue with you. there's a difference.

What he said is true.

There’s nothing good that came out of this deal.

Putin got what he wanted with little effort and Biden took the bait.

 

[hog88]

No. I refuse to argue with you. there's a difference.

Because you have no argument.

 

[lawgator1]

Why has this taken off so much the last few years? Nothing like millionaire athletes all butt hurt and provided to them by our system, being so disrespectful.
It is deeper than kneeling..it is nothing but disrespectful protest..which is fine. These people feel this nation was ill founded and built on white supremacy.
But if they want to be *****..then I have the right to say they are misplaced and entitled bitches.

Your representation of what it's about is too narrow. Way too narrow.

 

[Orangeburst]

Where is Bergdahl BTW?

 

[EasternVol]

People are literally mad that an American was set free from a Russian labor camp because that American doesnt meet their definition of what it means to be an American

Ironically it's actually them that's the most unamerican of all.

My issue with the trade is that it's extremely unbalanced. A small time toker for one of the world's most notorious arms dealers is a fool's deal on our side.
She was clearly guilty. If we want to spring somebody, target someone who deserves clemency. The only reason for this deal is political pandering.

 

[Sandman 423]

Yeah.

We all should be happy that a Russian weapon terrorist is free.

Putin is laughing at this trade.

Why would he be laughing?

 

[VolFreakJosh]

Why would he be laughing?

Joe Biden was actually dumb enough to go through with it

 

[n_huffhines]

She wasn’t arrested in America.

She wasn’t serving her sentence in an American prison.

This wasn’t under American law.

Why does the extreme left believe that she is being held in American prison?

What are you talking about? Nobody here is saying any of this

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Exclusive–Tom Cotton: People Will Die Because Biden Traded ‘Merchant of Death’ for Brittney Griner

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) predicted on Thursday that leftist President Joe Biden’s decision to trade imprisoned basketball player Brittney Griner for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “merchant of death,” would result in people dying as rogue states interpreted the move as open season to arrest Americans.

“As a result of the efforts made, we managed to agree with the American side to arrange an exchange of Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner. The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland,” the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed.

Asked by Alex Marlow if people would die as a result of Viktor Bout being released from prison, Sen. Cotton answered in the affirmative.

“I think they will because, again, Viktor Bout is known as the merchant of death for a reason,” Sen. Cotton said. “It’s not like he’s going to retire to the Black Sea and peacefully live out his golden years in a quiet retirement. [Russian leader] Vladimir Putin wanted him out for a reason.”

Bout was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to 25 years in prison for arms trafficking, aiding terrorist organizations, and conspiring to kill Americans. A notorious arms dealer with a lengthy career of aiding international terrorists, Bout was arrested in a sting operation in which American DEA officials posed as potential buyers tied to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist terrorist organization. The DEA officials explicitly stated they wanted to weapons to kill Americans, to which Bout allegedly replied, “we have the same enemy.”

Exclusive–Tom Cotton: People Will Die Because Biden Traded 'Merchant of Death' for Brittney Griner

 

[Electric Orange]

 

[EasternVol]

Reasonable. But I will counter with "does it hurt anything?"

There really isn't any harm in the anthem before an event and it really has only become an issue in recent years. Quite frankly, with bull-**** reasons behind it being an issue in my opinion. But it doesn't hurt anything for the 90 or so seconds it takes.

To me, I don't see it as a nationalistic "pep rally" and more of a part of our culture. It's something that just is.

So it doesn't hurt anything if folks choose to not participate.

 

[Weezer]

The Real Deal Behind the U.S.–Iran Prisoner Swap

Trump swapped an Iranian scientist sending out tissue research for a college student. That was lopsided, too, in favor of Iran.

Sounds like another bad trade. But I'm guessing you supported it like you're supporting this one, right?

 

[the_todd]

This will not cost him re-election. Major media will never let the sheeple know what a sham this deal was. Biden will be praised for allowing a monster free in exchange for a stupid American leftist.

I don’t know man. He showed what he real cares about. The veterans are pissed

 

[Sandman 423]

Joe Biden was actually dumb enough to go through with it

Was it a bad deal as far as us trading a low level drug offender for a arms dealer...... Sure. What good would have come from refusing the deal?

Our government should always work in it's citizens best interest.

 

[lawgator1]

Sounds like another bad trade. But I'm guessing you supported it like you're supporting this one, right?

I don't recall having any particular reaction. And in fact I don't even have a strong one on this trade. I'd be far more motivated if we got Whelan back. But my comments here have been about what I perceive to be some very petty criticisms of this, and so it is more responding to those than actually having particular motivation over this that accounts for my responses here.

I think there are many things to criticize him for -- Afghanistan withdrawal being bungled is the main one in my mind. This prisoner swap is just not one of them.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Who Is Viktor Bout, the ‘Merchant of Death’ Arms Dealer Biden Traded to Russia For Brittney Griner?

President Joe Biden on Thursday traded Viktor Bout, the notorious international arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death," to Russia for U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow airport earlier this year with cannabis oil in her luggage.

A former Soviet military translator, Bout supplied arms for deadly conflicts around the world by using his air cargo companies to smuggle weapons from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East in the 1990s and early 2000s. Bout allegedly delivered surface-to-air missiles to Kenya for an attack on an Israeli airliner in 2002. And four years later, Bout reportedly met with Islamic terrorist organization Hezbollah prior to the Lebanon war. The "Merchant of Death" also had a "considerable commercial presence in Libya" during former leader Muammar Qaddafi's reign, according to intelligence records found in the country in 2011.


U.S. officials under the Bush administration captured Bout during a 2008 sting operation in Bangkok, where the arms dealer believed he was meeting with Colombian narco-terrorist group FARC to secure the sale of 100 surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers. Bout was extradited from Thailand to the United States in 2010 on terrorism charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, and conspiracy to kill U.S. officials. A U.S. jury sentenced Bout to 25 years in prison in Manhattan in 2011.

Who Is Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death' Arms Dealer Biden Traded to Russia For Brittney Griner? - Washington Free Beacon

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Viktour Bout looks like a high school science teacher.

 

[Tman44]

I don’t know man. He showed what he real cares about. The veterans are pissed

As well they should be. Let me be VERY clear... I DO NOT see our veterans as Sheeple. I'd be surprised if he earned much of the veteran vote to begin with.

 

[EasternVol]

Was it a bad deal as far as us trading a low level drug offender for a arms dealer...... Sure. What good would have come from refusing the deal?

Our government should always work in it's citizens best interest.

The good would be to keep Bout in prison or to get much more in exchange for him.
We had leverage and threw it away.