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OPINION – This article could contain comment that reflects author’s view.
After being spotted by observers, a video showing Brittney Griner as WNBA player was made viral. She was swapped for Viktor Bout (convicted Russian terrorist) at an airport.
The Russian news agency Tass captured Griner wearing a red jacket walking on an airport tarmac while Bout moved towards him with another man. “Bout shook the hands of a couple of people in the video before an obvious cut appeared in the film. The footage then resumes just moments later showing Griner walking away from Bout,”Daily Wire reports.
Russian news agency TASS releases footage of Brittney Griner/Viktor Bout Exchange. pic.twitter.com/QmOItTEQ3O
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 8, 2022
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Critics immediately noted the change. “and it appeared as though Griner was posturing herself to shake Bout’s right hand when the footage was cut,”The Daily Wire reported.
Further, the source reported that Bout was charged with terroristic acts in 2011 for trying to sell anti-aircraft weapons worth millions of dollars to FARC rebels from Colombia to allow them to down U.S. helicopters.
“There’s a jump cut here at :13 as everyone is shaking hands and hugging and right before it looks like Griner maybe going in to shake hands with Bout?”Political commentator Stephen L. Miller tweeted. “Probably not great optics there to have your star prisoner swap shaking hands with the most notorious arms dealer on the planet.”
Rob Schmitt is Newsmax’s host. He tweeted it in agreement: “You can tell Griner went in for a handshake with Viktor Bout and it was completely edited out.”
Citing official sources, CBS News reported exclusively that Griner was “released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer” Bout.
“The one-for-one exchange agreement negotiated with Moscow in recent weeks was given final approval by President Biden within just the last week, according to sources familiar with the deal. The swap, first reported by CBS News, took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates,”The outlet was further noted.
“A White House official said President Biden was in the Oval Office Thursday morning on the phone, speaking with Griner, and her wife Cherelle Griner and Vice President Kamala Harris were also in the room. Per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner was expected to quickly undergo a medical evaluation,”Continued the outlet
Biden sent the tweet via his official twitter account. wrote: “She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.”
Reports claimed in August that Russian officials confirmed Moscow’s intention to trade Griner for Paul Whelan (an American held in Russia) in exchange for Bout. “Merchant of Death”An arms dealer has been held in prison in the United States ever since 2010.
A former DEA agent called it at the time. “dangerous”The West and the U.S.
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Rob “Zach”Zachariasiewicz in an Op-Ed published by USA Today warned against trading Bout to Griner.
“Bout, who is known as the ‘Merchant of Death,’ provided the fuel for conflicts across the globe. He was a critical player in the global illicit arms trade not because he could obtain weapons but because he could deliver his destructive cargo anywhere in the world through his control of a private fleet of military aircraft. And he did just that,” the former DEA agent wrote.
“A tremendous amount of resources and political capital were spent on the critical national security investigation into Bout’s actions. Lives were placed at risk, and tireless efforts were made. Now many voices are not being adequately considered in these deliberations over whether to free Bout in exchange for an American. Those voices include an entire generation of maimed and orphaned inhabitants of war-torn countries throughout the world, especially in Africa,”He added.
“In a recorded undercover meeting, he declared to persons he believed to be terrorist facilitators that the United States was his sworn enemy. He offered them, as part of an extensive arsenal of heavy weapons, hundreds of surface-to-air missiles to be used against U.S. military advisers and the Colombian military,”Zachariasiewicz added more.
“Negotiating for Bout’s release is a feckless and shortsighted foreign policy. Such actions merely encourage our adversaries to engage in the kidnapping, illegal detention, and ransoming of American citizens throughout the world,”He added.
Check out the complete article here