White House insists Brittney Griner swap was the best offer: Peter Doocy
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy reports that Basketball star Brittney Griner was swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and is safely on her way home on 'Special Report.'
Brittney Griner is the clear winner in Thursday’s stunning prisoner swap of the WNBA star for arms dealer Viktor Bout. But America has paid a high price and the costs to foreign policy could add up for years.
Here are the other big winners in Brittney Griner’s release: Putin, Saudi Arabia, Viktor Bout, and the Biden political machine.
The losers? Current Russian hostage Paul Whelan and the people of Ukraine. And America’s long-term reputation.
BRITTNEY GRINER RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON IN SWAP FOR CONVICTED ARMS DEALER
Let me say upfront that I’m glad to see an American coming home at Christmas time. No question, Putin used Griner for propaganda purposes. Until this year, WNBA stars played in Ekaterinburg, Russia for years and got VIP treatment.
Many Americans regard vaping cannabis as less serious than a parking ticket. Even Whelan, who is still in prison in Russia, had the grace to say he was glad to see Griner freed.
It’s how President Biden did it and the long-term ramifications that bother me. The Biden administration compromised big time, especially by leaving Whelan behind, and letting Bout out of jail.
First and foremost, this is a win for Putin.
Griner means nothing to Putin. In his eyes, she is just an American, female athlete.
BRITTNEY GRINER IS COMING HOME. WILL SHE STAND FOR THE ANTHEM NOW THAT SHE'S BACK IN THE USA?
Bringing Bout back at a low price will show Putin is clever in the eyes of his cronies in Moscow and sadly, it will demonstrate to the Russian people that Putin is still well and truly in charge. He remains a major international player who has just pulled a fast one on Biden.
Worse still is setting the precedent of hostage "diplomacy" through this negotiation. It’s a dangerous world out there and maybe more bad guys will decide they can cash in on wrongful detention of a high-profile American female.
What really stinks is Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine. It was painful to see the State Department working to get Brittney Griner back, when civilians in Ukraine are dying at Putin’s hands and nuclear tensions are high.
Viktor Bout was an awfully big prize to give up. The Drug Enforcement Agency nabbed him in 2008 and Manhattan U.S. Attorney described Bout as "international arms trafficking enemy number one for many years, arming some of the most violent conflicts around the globe" when he was locked up for good in 2012.
Right now, Iran and North Korea are selling weapons to Russia to use in Ukraine, so they’ll be happy to see how Putin sticks up for arms merchants.
Griner’s release is a win for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, too. It turns out that maybe Biden was talking to him about something other than oil. The Crown Prince wants to raise Saudi Arabia’s international profile, and he scored points brokering a deal with Russia and the U.S., and one that was announced just after a visit from Xi Jinping.
For Putin, the Saudi angle was crucial, and it should have given the U.S. more leverage.
Remember Putin also wants Saudi Arabia to limit production of oil and there are other factors like Europe’s Russian oil price cap and the general energy market chaos to consider.
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Giving the Crown Prince a diplomatic success was also easy for Putin and will help keep up Russia’s status amongst the oil merchants of OPEC+ regardless of whatever happens in Ukraine.
Of course, what really stinks is Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine. It was painful to see the State Department working to get Griner back, when civilians in Ukraine are dying at Putin’s hands and nuclear tensions are high.
The bottom line is that Biden cranked up diplomacy to get Griner out during the worst Russia crisis in decades – and Biden will benefit with his voter base.
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The Whelan negotiations "are not back to square one" claimed National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby today. But the raw fact is Biden prioritized Griner, and her release will give him an ongoing political pay-off.
Yes, I’d say Biden’s running in 2024.
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