Ok Matty, finish up your chocolate milk. I need you to understand that when you go on timeout/prison it’s not because that provides value to me or anyone else, it’s because you were naughty and need to learn a lesson and pay a price. The length of your timeout is dependent on the severity of your naughtiness. It’s why we have different penalties for arms trafficking and pot possession, so trading someone doing 25 years for arms trafficking for someone on a pot possession charge, that would get 0 time and depending on the state not even a fine in the US, is not an equivalent value.
Also saying someone who did what Bout did (or are you disputing that?), is a political prisoner, rather than an actual criminal rightfully imprisoned, is the most laughable thing I’ve seen on here in a while, and that is quite an accomplishment.
As far as explaining his value to Putin goes, just the fact that Bout’s release was an ongoing goal of Putin is enough for me. Do gangsters stop being gangsters due to time? That’s a new concept to me, so maybe you can explain your reasoning for believing that. Sorry for the big words, I’m sure Dutch can interpret for you.
So to you, in the world of foreign policy, you consider the length of the prison sentence to determine the value of a prisoner? Or how naughty they were? I get that you believe that he should serve his entire sentence in jail, but what good does another 10 years do for us? More time to think about what he did wrong so when he gets out he won’t do naughty things anymore?
It’s unlikely that Russia will be able to use him in any meaningful way. The empire he created is gone. His companies either dissolved or moved on without him. Putin was probably interested in him because he knew the outrage it would spark on the right.
Political prisoner wasn’t the correct term. A political pawn is what I meant.
Bout is small fish anyway. The Mango Mussolini tried desperately for years to send $350B in arms to Saudi Arabia which congress vehemently opposed.