LOS ANGELES.–Pounding his chest with a Russian hostage swap that returned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkowich and former Marine Paul Whelan, 46-year-old White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan took all the credit. Sullivan said nothing of leaving 65-year-old Pennsylvania school teacher Marc Fogel, who’s been in Russian prison since 2021, was not part of the prisoner swap that won the release of Gershkowich and Whelan. Whelan’s family complained loudly after he watched 32-year-old WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian prison in another swap Dec. 8, 2022. Finally, the Whelan family got their wish but not after a long wait, after serving nearly six years in Russian prison. Sullivan said he was working feverishly on Fogel’s return. But the question remains why 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin would sign off on the latest swap?
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) had a different idea than the White House who took full credit for the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War. Vance thinks the prospects of Trump becoming president influenced Putin to strike a deal. How ironic that the White House looks at the Cold War as a thing of the past, supposedly in the new age of U.S.-Russian diplomacy. But any look at current U.S.-Russian relations shows the worst relations since the end of WW II, after Russian lost some 28 million citizens fighting the Nazis in WW II. When Russia talks of its defensive or offensive military posture, it’s still reeling from losses in WW II. Russia was the first to liberate Berlin April 30, 1945, contrary to the American historic record that has the U.S. defeating the Nazi regime. But when it comes to the latest prisoner swap, Vance thinks it had more to do with Trump.
White House officials, certainly Sullivan, reject the idea that Trump had anything to do with Putin acquiescing to the latest prisoner swap. Putin got the better end of the deal with 59-year-old FSB hit-man Vadim Krasnikov getting out a life sentence in Germany. Whatever the deal, Putin once again out-negotiated his U.S. counterparts, getting far more Kremlin officials out of Western jails in exchange for Gershkowich and Whelan. “We certainly want these Americans to come home. It was ridiculous that they were in prison to begin with,” Vance said, referring to the lack of U.S.-Russian relations under Biden. Biden expects Putin to make concessions to the U.S. while Biden wages proxy war in Ukraine with the Kremlin. Vance recognizes that U.S.-Russian relations under Biden have never been worse, making prisoner swaps and other bilateral relations next to impossible.
Vance wants to dampen some of the media hype related to the recent prisoner swap. Everyone is happy to get back WSJ reporter Evan Gershkowich or Paul Whelan but at what price to the U.S. and Western governments? Releasing a FSB hit-man so he can perform the same dirty deeds in the future can’t look to favorable to the U.S. “But we have to ask ourselves: Why are they coming home? And I think it’s because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump’s about to be back in office, as they’re cleaning house,” Vance said. “That’s a good thing, and I think it’s a testament to Donald Trump’s strength. For the vast majority of voters, they look at only domestic politics, not as concerned with foreign policy. Washington is far more concerned about foreign policy than Main Street America where pocket book issues seem to rule the day.
When asked by the press about Vance’s comments, Sullivan played dumb. “I don’t follow,” Sullivan said, referring to why Putin agreed to the prisoner swap now. With Biden at war with the Kremlin in Ukraine, U.S.-Russian relations have sunk to the lowest level since the end of WW II. Today’s relations with the Kremlin are far worse than the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when the U.S. and Russia were close to nuclear confrontation. For some unknown reason, Biden started calling Putin names as soon as he took office. Biden called Putin March 18, 2021 a “soulless killer” on the same day 62-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sullivan accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Western China. With that kind of insults, it’s no wonder the U.S. no longer has workable diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.
When you look at the crisis level of U.S. foreign policy and national security, how could anyone trust Kamala Harris to deal with issues other than rubber stamping Biden’s foreign policy? Trump has promised on winning the election Nov. 5 to end the Ukraine War but, most importantly, to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin. Biden has the U.S. on a war footing with Russia, ending decades of normal diplomatic relations where both countries worked hard to resolve global hot spots. Biden was asked what he thought of Trump’s remarks that he could get U.S. prisoners out of Russian jails. “Why didn’t he do it when he was president,” Biden said, calling Trump’s bluff. But with Biden creating the worst diplomatic relations with Russia and China in generations, why would Biden expect to cooperate with the U.S. on anything when he funds proxy war against the Kremlin?
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.
