Self-appointed ambassador 61-year-old Hall of Fame Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman, known for his unusual relationship with North Korean President Kim Jong-un, said he got permission to go to Russia on a mercy mission to get 31-year-old WNBA start Brittney Griner out of a Russian jail. Griner awaits an appeal on her Aug. 4 conviction and sentencing to nine-and-a-half years in a Russian penal colony for cannabis possession contained in vape-cartridges in her luggage. Griner pleaded guilty July 8, taking advice of her Russian attorneys to expedite her trial’s conclusion. When she received a nine-and-a-half year sentence Aug. 4, the Biden administraion went into overdrive to bring about a prisoner swap involving herself, 52-year-old former Marine Paul Whelan and 56-year-old arms trafficker Viktor Bout. President Joe Biden, 79, thought he had a deal for Griner’s release.
When Griner’s release wasn’t forthcoming, Rodman decided to go to the rescue, knowing his past track record meeting with 69-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin and 38-yar-old North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Rodman said he had permission to go to Moscow on his mercy mission, just not from the White House. Rodman thinks going as a basketball ambassador he can appeal to Putin’s sense of decency, keeping an WNBA star in jail. “It is public information that the administration has made a significant offer to Russia and anything other than negotiating further trough the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder release efforts,” said an unnamed White House official, encouraging Rodman to stay away. “I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl,” Rodman told NBC News. “I’m trying to go this week,” Rodman saying, clearly without the White House blessings.
White House officials certainly don’t want to be embarrassed should Rodman get lucky enough to prevail on Putin to let Griner go. Rodman told NBC he had permission but certainly it’s not from the White House. Some reporters obsess over why Rodman referred to Brittney Griner as “that girl,” as if that makes any difference. Rodham ,with his extreme tattoos and piercings is viewed as a kind of oddity by foreign leaders. While an accomplished Hall of Fame basketball player, he anything but a seasoned diplomat. Why North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un hung out with Rodman is anyone’s guess. Most likely an attempt by Kim to embarrass White House officials who had no luck in gaining direct access with Kim. Only former President Donald Trump met with Kim in North Korea, a unprecedented step for any U.S. president. Trump received flack from the media for meeting with Kim.
Rodman may not appreciate the deteriorated state of U.S.-Russian relations, all caused when Biden decided to fight a proxy war against the Kremlin. Rodman met in 2014 during the Obama presidency with Putin, where diplomatic relations were still more normal. Today’s U.S.-Russian relations are close to the breaking point, largely because the U.S. funds the Ukraine government and war effort against the Russian Federation. Things are so bad now that Putin has no incentive to negotiate any prisoner swap to get Griner out. Biden said yesterday in announcing another $700 billion defense package that he will supply Ukraine weapons indefinitely. Putin understands he’s no at war with Washington, far more than Kiev. Biden said publicly that he’s trying to degrade the Russian military to the point it can no longer wage war. If that’s no a declaration of war against the Kremlin, then what is?
Griner’s prospects of getting out of prison have are affected by the U.S. proxy war against the Russian Federation. When Rodman last visited Putin in 2014, it was unthinkable that the U.S. would ever be at war with the Russian Federation. Whey Biden decided he would adopt Ukraine as a puppet U.S. state, supplying cash-and-arms to fight the Russian Federation is anyone’s guess. Yet things are different today for any American, including Rodman, visiting Moscow. Relations are so bad with the State Department, 59-year Secretary of State Antony Blinken barely talks to 72-year-old Russian Amb. Sergey Lavrov. Blinken admitted he hadn’t talked to Lavrov since before the Feb. 24 Ukraine invasion. So when it comes to Rodman scoring any points to free Griner, it’s a long-shot at best. Rodman apparently doesn’t have the White House approval to serve as ambassador-at-large.
Griner finds herself caught in a political vise while Biden continues his proxy war against the Russian Federation. If Biden really cared about getting Griner out of a Russian penal colony, he’d pivot on the Ukraine War, pressure Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky to go to the peace table to resolve his conflict with the Kremlin. As the war stands today, Zelensky has lost about 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory to Russia since the war began. Controlling the entire Black Sea coast and all its ports, Zelensky has very little bargaining power with Russia. Zelensky keeps telling Biden he needs more lethal weapons to beat back the Russian advance. But if Biden wants any chance of getting Griner out, he needs to pivot on the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine. Putin would be more amenable if Biden drops his bid to crush Putin’s army and topple his government.
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.
