12-10-2022, 10:45 AM
(12-10-2022, 03:00 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: Pointing out “Jesus, that’s all we gained in return for unleashing a literal terrorist who earned the nickname “Merchant of Death” back into Putin’s open arms?”
Results in…
Trumpf didn’t get Whelan out either!
Yeah, no shit.
A literal terrorist? That's a bit of a reach. At worst Bout is a Russian spy that sold arms to people interested in fighting the West. Fun fact: the US has actually bought weapons from this guy when the need demanded it. I don't like letting him go, but I think a more honest representation would be that he's an amoral capitalist that figured out how to get rich by selling arms to whoever happened to need them, with a heavy thumb on the scale for his native country.
I'm surprised the right is so quick to criticize a sitting president for trading an arms dealer for an American civilian hostage. They've spent decades worshipping Saint Ronnie after his administration negotiated Iran Contra, possibly the worst guns-for-hostages deal ever made by a president.
America rarely negotiates from a position of power when it comes to civilians. Our government is a lot less willing to see our citizens suffer publicly in a 24 hour news cycle. When you deal with governments like the current one in Russia or the ayatollah back in the 80's, you know full well that they are willing to kill a prisoner. Sure, they might make it look like an accident, but that hostage's life is at stake so long as they are detained. Sometimes, you take the bad deal because it's the only deal. It's hardly a partisan trend. Reagan, Obama, Trump, and Biden have all had to do it.
it's super convenient to get big mad about it when a guy you don't like is in office and be church-mouse quiet when the dude you worship turns the Taliban loose.
