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“American basketball star Brittney Griner headed home Thursday night, freed from Russian prison in exchange for the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout… But the U.S. failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan, jailed in Russia for nearly four years…
“Biden’s authorization to release Bout, the Russian felon once nicknamed ‘the Merchant of Death,’ underscored the heightened urgency that his administration faced to get Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case on drug charges and her subsequent transfer to a penal colony.” AP News
Here’s our prior coverage of Griner. The Flip Side
The right criticizes the trade, arguing that it was a capitulation to Putin.
“This swap gives Putin some useful propaganda to present himself as having gotten the better of the United States. The Russian government took great pleasure in the Biden administration's far too visible display of desperation to reach an agreement over Griner… Put simply, America looks weak, and Russia looks strong. This perception represents the apex of Russian nationalist propaganda narratives…
“It's a timely win for Putin. Russian forces face increasingly grave odds in Ukraine, and the Russian public is increasingly aware of this struggle. It is notable, for example, that the deal's exclusion of the bad-conduct-discharged former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is featuring heavily in Russian state media. Putin can thus continue to leverage Whelan's suffering, which his family suggests is escalating. Whelan's status as a former Marine makes him a particularly valuable propaganda tool.”
Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner
“Yes, getting Griner back was 100% the right thing to do morally — but at what cost? Bout is a true war criminal responsible for endless death and chaos, who [at] one point was the second-most-wanted man in the world after Osama bin Laden. Are we going to spring Khalid Sheik Muhammad next? Former National Security Adviser John Bolton says the Trump administration was offered the same deal for Whelan — one-for-one trade for Bout — and it refused…
“After the Kremlin nixed a deal of Bout for both Griner and Whelan, a more palatable trade, the White House could have found some way to raise the pressure. Instead, it evidently just … waited, only to capitulate after Moscow sent Griner to the gulag… To confront Russia’s global ambitions, America needs to be bold and resolute, or things will only get bloodier.”
Editorial Board, New York Post
“Why didn’t the Trump administration agree to swap Bout? The so-called Merchant of Death still represents a massive threat to the US and its allies if he decides to go back into arms trafficking and supporting terror groups like FARC in South America, and reportedly the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Middle East, not to mention terror networks in Africa and Asia. Bout’s age has been tough to pin down, but the best estimate is that he’s in his mid-50s — so he hasn’t aged out of the business…
“And as Politico Pro reports today, even Biden administration officials worry that Bout will pick up where he left off… This isn’t an issue of partisanship, either. Senate Foreign Relations chair and New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez called the swap that released Bout both unbalanced and ‘deeply disturbing.’”
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
The left supports the trade, arguing that it was the only moral choice.
The left supports the trade, arguing that it was the only moral choice.
“There have been several other prisoner swaps just this year in which the Biden administration has had to make some tough decisions about who to release in order to get Americans safely home. Take the case of Trevor Reed, a former US Marine, who was detained by the Russians in 2019 on espionage charges that he has always denied. In April, Reed was exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted Russian drug smuggler…
“Or consider the case of Mark Frerichs, an American contractor working in Afghanistan, who was held for more than two years by the Taliban… Frerichs was released in exchange for clemency for [convicted drug trafficker] Haji Bashir Noorzai… Or take the case of the seven Americans detained in Venezuela for many years, who were exchanged two months ago for a couple of Venezuelans imprisoned in the US for conspiring to smuggle cocaine.”
Peter Bergen, CNN
“Prisoner swaps between democracies and despotic regimes are rarely equal. In 2010, for example, 10 Russians were swapped for four Americans; in 2014, three Cuban spies were exchanged for one U.S. intelligence agent. Putting a higher value on human life is a strength of democratic societies, not a weakness, and it is one we should be proud of.”
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
“A senior administration official notified me of the impending good news — and the awful news that Whelan would not be included. ‘It was bring home BG or no one,’ the official said, ‘and we made the only morally responsible [decision] of getting her home.’ I don’t disagree with that choice, but it doesn’t make the outcome any less devastating for Whelan and his family. The unfortunate reality, though, is that these are the bad choices U.S. presidents will keep needing to make until we develop a credible deterrent policy to hostage-taking.”
Jason Rezaian, Washington Post
“Why now? Putin seems to be trying to get in the West’s good graces. Perhaps this ‘long process’ of war with Ukraine, as Putin said yesterday, is not a positive process and that, eventually, conversations will lead to diplomacy. Putin has just given something of value to Biden, which is always a start…
“What lessons can be gleaned from this experience? Public diplomacy matters. The public attention that Griner’s case garnered was a positive in terms of keeping her story in the news. Traditional diplomacy also matters. Communications lines, even during war, need to remain open to keep ideas moving and options open.”
Tara D. Sonenshine, The Hill
A libertarian's take
“While Griner got a happy ending after months of separation and possible abuse in Russian detention, it's worth keeping in mind just how many nonviolent drug offenders are serving similar sentences in U.S. prisons with little hope of early release. While there are no people currently imprisoned in the U.S. for simple cannabis possession—as Griner was in Russia—many are imprisoned on other marijuana-related charges, such as distribution… Griner's imprisonment was an outrage, but so too is the imprisonment of all nonviolent drug offenders.”
Emma Camp, Reason
