It is always great news when an American citizen being held hostage by a foreign power is released. Period. It is clear the US worked diligently to get the best deal possible. Russia was only willing to deal Griner for Bout, so at the end of the day it was this or nothing. No point leaving with nothing. Griner deserved to be released and this is a win.
Family and friends of other hostages, including Paul Whelan, are rightfully concerned. There had been some expectation that the US would get both Whelan and Griner back in exchange for Bout. Great for the US and they worked hard for it, but Russia would never agree to it. Some would then say why not Whelan first considering his health and the conditions of his imprisonment. It appears Russia would not agree to swap Whelan for Bout, so that was just not possible today. The only possible deal was Griner for Bout, or leave with nothing.
The big issue is the continued practice of Russia, along with Iran and some others, of kidnapping Americans (or other westerners) off the streets or out of an airport and hold them as hostages for ransom of some kind. In most cases, the “charges” are fake or grossly exaggerated. The imprisonment is not justified, but serves as a bargaining tool to get what they want for an exchange. For decades, US administrations have swapped prisoners to bring home American citizens and this latest trade by the Biden administration was simply the next in the pattern.
What should the US and other nations do to address this ongoing practice? It is not acceptable for innocent Americans and those from other nations to be kidnapped, held as hostages for years in deplorable conditions, just to be used as tools for exchanges. the prisoners the US, et al, must trade are often evil, dangerous, violent criminals or perhaps spies. They were captured, prosecuted, and sentenced accordingly for their crimes. they are not the same as American hostages. Whereas hostage-taking was more a tactic of terrorist groups, we now see authoritarian governments like Russia doing it to extremes.
For now, the US is stuck negotiating, as we have done for many years, to get as many citizens back as possible in exchange for releasing criminals. We have to hold our noses and accept victory to bring our people home to their families. However, how long can we tolerate this? How many Americans will being victimized in this manner? Do we ban travel, business, or leisure, to these countries? Can we force deals to free more unjustly held citizens in exchange for justly convicted criminals? We are not going to war with Russia over this, but after decades of this, we need to find a better solution than one for one trades.
Dec. 08, 2022 – Source: Griner freed: WNBA star swapped for Russian, heads home | AP News