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Re: 'Lord of War' Viktor Bout
[Re: Giacomo_Vacari]
#1038068
08/02/22 07:12 PM
08/02/22 07:12 PM
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 24,080
Hollander
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 24,080
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That would be a terrible trade. Then again it is Joe Biden. I agree he was involved in almost every bloody conflict on the African continent.
Last edited by Hollander; 08/02/22 07:13 PM.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
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Re: 'Lord of War' Viktor Bout
[Re: eastsideofvan]
#1045575
12/09/22 06:57 PM
12/09/22 06:57 PM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,075
alicecooper
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,075
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What an embarrassment. Got to love how the same politicians who promote gun control at home are now trading to release perhaps the most brutal gun peddler of all time, responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. What an unbelievable disgrace! SO TRUE. And I wonder how much effort Griner will put into freeing imprisoned AMERICANS in America for bullshit weed charges? My guess is absolutely zero.
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Re: 'Lord of War' Viktor Bout
[Re: GangstersInc]
#1045617
12/10/22 10:52 AM
12/10/22 10:52 AM
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 400 It's cold in the north
Primo
Capo
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Capo
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 400
It's cold in the north
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I cannot believe they actually went through with this trade. What the hell Biden? Who would ever sign off on a trade like that
I've walked along the red canal of mars I've known kings and king makers Poets painters and paupers I've danced danced on the rings of Saturn Still your pilgrim soul is the only thing that ever mattered
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Re: 'Lord of War' Viktor Bout
[Re: GangstersInc]
#1045865
12/12/22 04:42 PM
12/12/22 04:42 PM
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,526
LuanKuci
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,526
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This is what the majority of our country wanted. I don’t know if you’re referring to the presidency or this specific trade. I remain pessimistic, but I’m happy to say that no one I know (mostly progressives) thinks getting back a disgraced low-tier athlete/drug mule for perhaps one of the most influential criminal around was a smart move. It really showed how morally bankrupt we’ve become. We made her relevant on the global stage as some sort of a Western hero worth the consequences of liberating a mastermind of war and death.
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Re: 'Lord of War' Viktor Bout
[Re: GangstersInc]
#1045899
12/13/22 04:46 AM
12/13/22 04:46 AM
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 24,080
Hollander
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 24,080
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Some Africa specialists fear that Putin will press him into service to advise Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his mercenary force, the Wagner Group, which is playing a key role fighting on the ground in Ukraine and has been implicated in some of the worst war crimes attributed to Russian forces. Prigozhin and Bout are both believed to be linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency known as GRU, and may well have crossed paths in Africa where they were both working after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Analysts say that even if Bout steers clear of the war in Ukraine, he can still do a lot of damage in Africa as the Wagner Group expands Russia’s presence, trading in timber, minerals and other natural resources.
“Wagner is Russia’s coercive tool in Africa,” says Joseph Siegle, head of research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, an arm of the Pentagon.
“While the numbers that are deployed in Africa may seem small,” Siegle says, “in fact, they’re having very far-reaching political effects to keep regimes that are supportive of Moscow in power. This has wide-reaching geostrategic implications for Russia’s involvement in Africa. Wagner is helping prop up some of the more destabilizing forces on the continent. Russia’s engagement is making them even more unstable.”
This undated photograph handed out by French military shows three Russian mercenaries, right, in northern Mali. | French Army via AP
“Africa is a great profit center for the Wagner Group,” says Tim Wittig, an American scholar based in South Africa, specializing in studying threat finance and wildlife trafficking. Wittig says that Bout’s logistical skills, contacts and discipline, far superior to those displayed by Wagner Group, “could really help solidify Wagner’s footprint in Africa and make it harder to dislodge.”
Tom O’Connor, a former senior FBI agent specializing in domestic terrorism, now a consultant, takes the view that Putin’s play is more likely aimed at stirring up political division inside the United States, in part by refusing to include a former Marine, Paul Whelan, in the swap for Griner.
“Taking Paul Whelan off the table is strategic on Putin’s part,” O’Connor wrote. “Reaction in many camps has been to attack the administration. ... Republican leaders, who have already said they are going to stop payments to assist Ukraine, are outwardly attacking Biden and making continued Ukraine support more difficult. Putin released Griner … to continue efforts to inflame the Right against the Left in the U.S. The end result, he hopes, is less support to Ukraine and to continue his efforts to divide U.S. population. Score one for Putin.” https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/12/viktor-bout-merchant-of-death-00073422
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
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