Imperial Arrogance on Display: Absurd Biden Regime Prisoner Swap Proposal

by Stephen Lendman

Hegemon USA doesn't negotiate. It demands.

Whenever diplomatic outreach is extended to the empire of lies and forever wars, betrayal follows time and again. 

The scourge of imperial arrogance assures it.

It's why Russia should cut ties to the US-dominated West — to include rejection of what interventionist Blinken falsely called "a substantial proposal (sic)."

Weeks earlier, the Biden regime reportedly offered to release illegally held Russian political prisoner Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

Griner was arrested after arriving at Russia's Sheremetyevo Airport in possession of cannabis oil, an illegal narcotic.

According to Russia's criminal code, possession of illegal substances is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years.

In June 2020, a Moscow court sentenced US spy Paul Whelan to 16 years imprisonment.

Charged with espionage, he was caught red-handed in December 2018 and arrested after accepting a flash drive with sensitive information from an undercover Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) official.

Griner is a high-profile WNBA basketball star player.

Whelan was a BorgWarner security chief for its Michigan-based auto components company.

According to former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) official Jan Neumann, the agency "never busts anyone on espionage charges if there's no espionage case, especially not foreign citizens," adding: 

FSB operatives "followed Whelan and saw every step of the way and had enough evidence." 

"Each espionage case is a very high-profile investigation."

"Every step is under control of top-level officials, and everyone is very sensitive about every detail and aspect of such an operation."

The FSB "wait(ed) for a perfect moment (to nab Whelan red-handed), something an alleged spy can't deny."

There's no ambiguity about the guilt of both Americans — in stark contrast to Russian political prisoners.

Framed and convicted for being nationals of the "wrong" country, their wrongful incarceration is part of longstanding US war on Russia by other means.

Like various other Russian political prisoners in the US, Viktor Bout was framed, arrested and imprisoned on false charges.

Unjustifiably called a "merchant of death," he ran a legitimate air cargo business.

Now languishing behind bars in the US gulag, he's been denied proper medical care and other mistreatment for being a Russian national.

He's not alone.

Arrested on false charges of "conspiracy to act as a Russian agent within the US without prior notification to the attorney general," Maria Butina was automatically declared guilty by accusation — despite no evidence of guilt.

She was a visa-approved American University graduate, earning a master's degree in international relations, not a Russian agent.

Yet illegally imprisoned, she endured suffocating solitary confinement and other dehumanizing conditions in the US gulag until released and allowed to return home.

Wrongfully imprisoned for activist opposition to hegemon USA's war on humanity, the late Marylyn Buck once said the following:

US gulag "prisons (are) warehouses to "disappear the unacceptable…deprive their captives of their liberties, their human agency, and to punish (and) stigmatize prisoners through moralistic denunciations and indictment based on bad genes – skin color (ethnicity, or other characteristics) as a crime."

Thousands of US prisoners aren't behind bars "because they are 'criminals,' but because they've been accused of breaking (a law) designed to exert tighter social control and state repression."

So they've been scapegoated and criminalized for their legitimate beliefs and activism.

In US gulag confinement, they're egregiously mistreated for supporting peace, equity and justice according to international law.

Butina's release from US gulag confinement was an exception to the rule, along with at least two other Russian nationals.

Besides Bout, other wrongfully convicted and imprisoned Russian nationals included Konstantin Yaroshenko.

Framed and innocent, he was falsely charged with drug smuggling.

Now released, he was exchanged for US national Trevor Reed. 

Falsely convicted on phony charges of money laundering in uranium deals, Vadim Mikerin was also fortunate to be released.

According to Russia's US envoy, Anatoly Antonov, around 100 Russian nationals are illegally imprisoned by the empire of lies, their rights under international and US law "systematically violated."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, earlier said the following:

"(E)verything (is being done) to hasten the" the release of illegally imprisoned Russian nationals in the US so they can "return home."

"So far, it is unclear when and on what basis they would be able to."

Russia's Foreign Ministry earlier said the following:

"American special services are continuing their de facto hunt for Russians all over the world."

"Sometimes these were actual abductions of our compatriots."

"This is what happened (to) Konstantin Yaroshenko."

He "was kidnapped in Liberia in 2010 and secretly taken to the US in violation of Liberian and international laws."

"This also happened in 2014 (to) Roman Seleznyov."

He was "abducted in the Maldives and forcefully taken to American territory."

Once in US custody, dehumanizing actions follow.

US tactics include "direct threats (and) attempt(s) to coerce Russians into pleading guilty, despite the fact that charges (against) them are" bogus.

"Those who refuse get sentenced to extraordinarily long prison terms."

The empire of lies and forever wars on invented enemies operates exclusively by its own rules.

Russia should categorically reject Blinken's so-called "substantial proposal."

Moscow's only acceptable option is the unconditional release of ALL illegally held Russian political prisoners by hegemon USA in exchange for Griner and Whelan.

Nothing less should be agreed on.