2 Key Reasons And Lessons About Why Russia Are Suddenly So Interested In Exchanging Viktor Bout For Brittney Griner & Paul Whelan!
Embattled American basketball superstar Brittney Griner’s recent conviction and sentencing over drug-related offenses in Russia has continued to generate many reactions worldwide, and a new conspiracy theory about the proposed prisoner exchange involving her, another American prisoner in Russian custody, and a notorious high-profile criminal held in the USA has surfaced online.
Weeks before Brittney was sentenced to 9-and-a-half years in prison for traveling into Russia while in possession of a vape oil cartridge that contained cannabis oil, Washington had reportedly proposed to secure the WNBA star and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan’s release from Russia in exchange for the arms dealer, Viktor Bout, popularly known as the “merchant of death.”
Embattled American basketball superstar Brittney Griner’s recent conviction and sentencing over drug-related offenses in Russia has continued to generate many reactions worldwide.
The Kremlin was allegedly unresponsive to those initial moves and even reportedly deliberately frustrated the Americans until Brittney was convicted and sentenced to prison on August 4, 2022.
Since then, the Russians’ tune to the proposed swap has significantly changed to a more receptive and open one.
While many erroneously think that the Russians do not want Viktor back, here are two possible reasons why many believe they’re suddenly open to the prisoners’ exchange, with some of our observations and lessons from it, too.
A new conspiracy theory about the proposed prisoner exchange involving Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan, and Viktor Bout has surfaced online.
(1) People will do anything to secure or protect a person of interest and great value to them!
According to a US military analyst, Aleksander Golts, the Russians may suddenly be very keen to get Viktor out of prison in the US, where he has been serving a 25-year prison term since 2011 for allegedly selling weapons to a terrorist organization based in Colombia, because “his attempts to create intrigues with weaponry were based either on the support of some Russian state structures or of some highly placed people.”
If Viktor’s weapons deals were being directed or influenced by oligarchs in Russia, he is definitely too valuable to abandon in any foreign prison, talk more, an American one!
His weapons deals have allegedly been tied to many conflicts worldwide, especially in strategic areas of Russian interest, hence the possibility of this option.
This teaches us that value – whether positive or negative – is what everyone should aspire to attain. Once you are a person of value, it is almost as though some separate rules and laws apply to you as against every other person.
If indeed Viktor’s bloody arms-dealing reign was Kremlin-backed, we can all expect to see some a bit more push and aggression of sorts from the Russians to push the prisoners’ swap over the line in the coming weeks. After all, no one slays the hen that lays the golden eggs, right?
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has also been allegedly imprisoned unlawfully in Russia on espionage charges since 2020, and is part of the proposed prisoners’ exchange.
(2) Never leave yourself vulnerable to possible enemy exposure for too long, lest you risk being sabotaged!
Viktor was convicted for trading arms with a Colombian terrorist organization, and these weapons were allegedly used to kill Americans in Colombia in 2011. After being sentenced in 2012, he has since served about 11 years of that prison term in an American federal prison already.
There are conflicting opinions about why the Russians may desperately want him back now that they seem to have a bargaining chip in Brittney.
While Golts believes that it may be because the Russians are afraid that a lengthy prison stay in America may break and force him to become an American spy in exchange for his freedom because “he knows too much,” a former US Defence Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler holds an opposite opinion:
Viktor Bout has been serving a 25-year prison term since 2011 in an American prison for allegedly selling weapons to a terrorist organization based in Colombia, which were used to kill Americans.
“Moscow wants him back because he possesses critical insights that he can share with the GRU, his former agency. Having been in a US prison and interrogated by US officials, he knows what our intelligence requirements are and other information that is valuable for the Russians.
It would be a big mistake for the US to give up Viktor Bout, as much as one feels compassion for Griner and Whelan,” Koffler stated.
Whichever side of this coin his current situation tilts, the fundamental lesson it presents cannot be ignored: It is very dangerous to leave yourself and your assets vulnerable to possible enemy exposure for too long, lest you risk being sabotaged!
Russia’s cunning tact may be devious and despicable. Still, there are loads of lessons to learn from their current “cold war” with the Americans over Brittney and Paul, and we are all about unearthing gems of knowledge and wisdom such as these in any situation.
Whether good or bad, there is always a vital lesson to learn from anything that happens around us in life, and we would all do well always to be attentive and vigilant enough to pick these lessons.
Would the politicians and paper pushers in Washington believe Brittney’s life is worth the trade, or could Paul Whelan’s involvement help swing things in their favor?
Will this much-talked-about trade eventually go through? It depends on a few key factors, which include whether the politicians and paper pushers in Washington believe her life is worth the trade, although Paul Whelan’s involvement may help swing things in their favor.
We will keep you updated as things develop regarding the proposed swap.
Meanwhile, you can share your thoughts about these latest revelations and theories with us in the comments section or via Facebook: Wenetly and Prof. Mgbeke.
