Announcing today with much fanfare to get 31-year-old WNBA star Britney Griner out of a Russian jail, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pretended 79-yeaer-old President Joe Biden made a good deal to 69-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Blinken announced he would present the deal directly to 72-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, knowing full well that the U.S. is currently fighting a proxy war against the Russian Federation. Things are a lot different today than April 27 when the State Department managed a prisoner swap to get 30-year-old former Marine Trevor Reed out of Russian prison. Reed was incarcerated since 2019 accused of striking a Moscow police officer. Whether admitted to or not by the White House, things changed for any new prisoner swaps once Biden said March 26 in Warsaw, Poland that Putin should not continue as Russian president.
Blinken thinks it’s business as usual with the Russian Foreign Ministry today after 69-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted April 26 in Ramstein, Germany that the aim of the U.S. mission in Ukraine was to degrade the Russian military to the point it could no longer wage war. If that’s no a declaration of war against the Russian Federation, then what is? So, when it comes to Griner, why should Putin make any deal with the U.S. on Griner or anyone else unless the U.S. gives up its proxy war against the Kremlin? “In the coming days, I expect to s peak with Russian Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov for the first time since the war began . . .” Blinken said, as if Lavrov has any interest in talking with him. Blinken has slammed Putin and Lavrov from the day he started as Secretary of State. Only hostility has flowed from Blinken, especially after Putin moved the Russian army into Ukraine Feb. 24.
Blinken acts like having a perfunctory phone call with Lavrov will mean anything, when the U.S. has been waging a proxy war using Ukrainian troops against the Russian Federation. “I’m going to raise as an issue that’s a top priority for us, the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Britney Griner who have been wrongfully detained and must be allowed to come home,” Blinken said, showing why he’s not fit for any diplomacy. So he’s saying to Lavrov and the Russian Federation that Griner and Whelan are “wrongfully detained,” that they broke no Russian laws to land in Russian jail. Blinken knows that Kremlin Spokewoman Maria Zakharova said last week that the Kremlin resents the Biden White House saying that U.S. prisoners in Russia are “wrongfully detained.” Griner already confessed to the judge of possessing cannabis in vaping pods found in her luggage.
Where does Blinken think he’ll have any leverage with Russian authorities, essentially telling them the U.S. prisoners were “wrongfully detained?” Zakharova said July 21 such statements shows utter contempt for Russian state and local laws regarding drug possession. Zakharova said that cannabis laws in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles don’t apply to in Moscow. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our government have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal. I’m going to use that conversation to follow up personally and I hope move us toward a resolution,” Blinken said. Blinken and the Biden administration have no rapport or leverage with the Russian Federation. Once they decided to go to war against the Kremlin, U.S.-Russian diplomatic relations hang by a thread, for all purposes are dead-on-arrival.
When suddenly does Blinken talk openly about his expect phone call with Lavrov, when the U.S. is at war with the Russian Federation? If Biden or Blinken really wanted to get Griner and Whelan out, they’d discuss immediately the U.S. role in funding and supplying arms to Ukraine to fight the Russian Federaiton. Who’s Blinken kidding thinking at this point he has any leverage with the Russian Federation? Viktor Bout, a convicted Russia arms smuggler, isn’t what the Russian Federation needs right now. Putin needs to see the U.S. serious about stopping its proxy war against the Russian Federation, using Ukrainian troops. Blnken won’t admit he’s spent 20 months making a mortal enemy out of Russia, now wants a favor on Britney Griner. Blinken thinks it’s a good deal for Russia but, in reality, Putin could care less about Bout. What he cares about is the U.S. stops its proxy war with the Kremlin.
Biden and Blinken can do all the fake PR they want about getting Britney Griner and Paul Whelan out of Russia jail. But, in reality, as long as Biden fights a proxy war against the Russian Federation, supplying unlimited cash-and-lethal-weapons to Ukraine, Griner and Whelan will remain on the back burner. Putin wants Biden to stop supplying lethal arms to Ukraien, stop meddling in Russia internal affairs or foreign policy. When Blinken and Lavrov speak about Griner, there won’t be much receptivity on the Russian side to make any deal with the U.S. until, or unless, Biden stops his proxy war against the Russian Federation. When Biden said March 26 he wanted Putin out and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted April 26 that the U.S. was trying to degrade the Russian military, the Kremlin took the war took a dangerous turn. If Biden wishes to prosecute his proxy war against the Russia Federation, he can expect little progress in getting Britney Griner and Paul Whelan out of jail.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
