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

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#1,176
Franklin Pierce said:
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.
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Ok that part made me laugh. We found evidence of his arms dealing when we destroyed the country to set up our own illegal weapons trafficking operation? You can't make up stuff like that
 
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#1,177
#1,177
RDU VOL#14 said:
The thing that bothers me is that on Twitter people are trying to turn this into a race thing..of course. The usual dipshits like Rex Chapman or Jemelle Hill are pretty much saying that people are upset because it’s a Black, lesbian celebrity who was freed and not the clean cut, white Marine. The problem is that this goes way beyond the “let’s cancel a Disney ride” or “change a pancake syrup bottle” level of world politics that these so called worldly people are able to comprehend. This is way beyond their little bubble of domestic SJW activism . No one GAF that BG is a black, lesbian, D list celebrity. They only want to see that what we gave is equal to what was returned. You can simultaneously be happy that a person who was going to face a much harsher punishment for a minimal crime has been released, while feeling that a precedent has been set that shouldn’t have been.
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It's best not to get into an argument with these people about it. That is what they want. They want to get you defending something that's not true.
 
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#1,178
Grand Vol said:
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.
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Were you here during the Viet Nam War? Men were drafted, and 50,000 lost their lives. I had a neigbor that had his foot blown off, and another friend that died.
I also know 2 people that did not have to go because of corrupt local draft boards.
That's America.
Many of us did not stand for the anthem in those years. I've attended many UT games and sat during the anthem.
 
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#1,179
lawgator1 said:
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.
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I disagree. Maybe it's my military upbringing, I don't know, but he surrendered a high value prisoner in a swap for a basketball player. Like I said, I'm happy she's home and safe, but strategically, just like with the Afghanistan withdrawal, he pooped the bed.
 
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#1,180
But Bout’s history in the arms trade extended much further afield. He has been accused of assembling a fleet of cargo planes to traffic military-grade weapons to conflict zones around the world since the 1990s, fueling bloody conflicts from Liberia to Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. Allegations of trafficking activities in Liberia prompted US authorities to freeze his American assets in 2004 and blocked any US transactions.

Viktor Bout: Russian arms dealer known as the 'Merchant of Death' swapped for Brittney Griner | CNN
 
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#1,181
'Deeply disturbing decision': Viktor Bout release sparks concerns

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Biden’s decision to release Bout for Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for bringing vape cartridges that contained minimal amounts of marijuana into Russia, was “a deeply disturbing decision,” per Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The Russians and other regimes that take American citizens hostage cannot pretend that there is equivalence between the Brittney Griners of the world and people like Viktor Bout, the so-called ‘Merchant of Death.’ Nothing could be further from the truth, and we cannot ignore that releasing Bout back into the world is a deeply disturbing decision,” he said. "We must stop inviting dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans overseas as bargaining chips, and we must try to do better at encouraging American citizens against traveling to places like Russia, where they are primary targets for this type of unlawful detention."

A senior Defense Department official told Politico that “there is a concern that [he] would return to doing the same kind of work that he’s done in the past,” while National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the United States is “going to make sure that we can defend this country against any and all threats.”

'Deeply disturbing decision': Viktor Bout release sparks concerns
 
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#1,184
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="volinbham, post: 22184217, member: 787"]if he kills anyone is that victim less important than anyone we traded for him?

no easy answers here and Biden isn't the first person to face this situation and trade dangerous people for innocent people so I'm not criticizing him specifically - just the action in general
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Who's innocent?
 
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#1,192
n_huffhines said:
We got people more worried about optics and "winning" than justice.
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Respect the laws…..especially if you’re in a foreign country. In no way was this a good deal by the idiots in charge of this country. Hopefully me and my buddies can get Biden in our million dollar fantasy league.
 
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#1,193
Boomer Esiason Blasts Biden Trade for Brittney Griner: ‘We Look So Pathetic’

Owen-Hoffmann_Patrick-McMullan-via-Getty-Images-640x480.jpg


Before eventually bowing to the woke mob, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons had a moment of true Twitter bravery where he blasted the Biden Administration for trading to get WNBA star Brittney Griner but leaving behind Marine Paul Whelan.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Parsons wrote: Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah.”

Though, before the wokesters targeted Parsons for destruction and eventually convinced him to delete his excellent tweet, former NFL great and current WFAN host Boomer Esiason discussed Parsons’ post on his radio show.

“I’m telling you, more people feel that way than don’t,” Esiason said. “I can tell you that right now. I know that we’re all happy that Brittney’s home like we said earlier on. But when you think about the magnitude of what we traded to get back a WNBA professional athlete and left a Marine sitting there whose family has been trying for years to get him out of there with nothing, nothing from the U.S. government.

“I kinda feel like the Russians basically were using her to get this guy out. It’s not an even swap – it’s not. We all know what happened to Brittney should have never happened. But man, we look so pathetic. And listening to our President talk about this is such a pathetic feeling. I want to be happy, but I can’t be.”

Boomer Esiason Blasts Biden Trade for Brittney Griner: 'We Look So Pathetic'
 
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#1,195
Franklin Pierce said:
Boomer Esiason Blasts Biden Trade for Brittney Griner: ‘We Look So Pathetic’

Owen-Hoffmann_Patrick-McMullan-via-Getty-Images-640x480.jpg


Before eventually bowing to the woke mob, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons had a moment of true Twitter bravery where he blasted the Biden Administration for trading to get WNBA star Brittney Griner but leaving behind Marine Paul Whelan.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Parsons wrote: Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah.”

Though, before the wokesters targeted Parsons for destruction and eventually convinced him to delete his excellent tweet, former NFL great and current WFAN host Boomer Esiason discussed Parsons’ post on his radio show.

“I’m telling you, more people feel that way than don’t,” Esiason said. “I can tell you that right now. I know that we’re all happy that Brittney’s home like we said earlier on. But when you think about the magnitude of what we traded to get back a WNBA professional athlete and left a Marine sitting there whose family has been trying for years to get him out of there with nothing, nothing from the U.S. government.

“I kinda feel like the Russians basically were using her to get this guy out. It’s not an even swap – it’s not. We all know what happened to Brittney should have never happened. But man, we look so pathetic. And listening to our President talk about this is such a pathetic feeling. I want to be happy, but I can’t be.”

Boomer Esiason Blasts Biden Trade for Brittney Griner: 'We Look So Pathetic'
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Sigh.

It wasn't either/or.
 
#1,198
#1,198
Franklin Pierce said:
Boomer Esiason Blasts Biden Trade for Brittney Griner: ‘We Look So Pathetic’

Owen-Hoffmann_Patrick-McMullan-via-Getty-Images-640x480.jpg


Before eventually bowing to the woke mob, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons had a moment of true Twitter bravery where he blasted the Biden Administration for trading to get WNBA star Brittney Griner but leaving behind Marine Paul Whelan.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Parsons wrote: Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah.”

Though, before the wokesters targeted Parsons for destruction and eventually convinced him to delete his excellent tweet, former NFL great and current WFAN host Boomer Esiason discussed Parsons’ post on his radio show.

“I’m telling you, more people feel that way than don’t,” Esiason said. “I can tell you that right now. I know that we’re all happy that Brittney’s home like we said earlier on. But when you think about the magnitude of what we traded to get back a WNBA professional athlete and left a Marine sitting there whose family has been trying for years to get him out of there with nothing, nothing from the U.S. government.

“I kinda feel like the Russians basically were using her to get this guy out. It’s not an even swap – it’s not. We all know what happened to Brittney should have never happened. But man, we look so pathetic. And listening to our President talk about this is such a pathetic feeling. I want to be happy, but I can’t be.”

Boomer Esiason Blasts Biden Trade for Brittney Griner: 'We Look So Pathetic'
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Boomer Esaison? Now we're getting serious commentary
 
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#1,199
lawgator1 said:
It wasn't either/or. In fact Whelan's family says so.
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Not only is that objectively not what his family says, your constant posts to this end run at odds with Paul Whelan’s feelings.

If your only option is trading the “most dangerous man in the world” for an ungrateful WNBA player, you don’t make the trade.
 
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