It sounds like Russian arms dealer Victor Bout was welcomed back with open arms. I wonder what

[brewens]

the real story is? Are you kidding me? Like they would really trust him without some serious interrogation. No way.

That had to stink to high heaven his being swapped for Brittany Griner. I liked it, but Putin and his boys would be suspicious. They would think he may have turned and cut a deal.

[Irish_Dem]

1. What do you think the real story is?

I agree that something is off about the public story.

[brewens]

2. I would hope that there is some certainty he won't be right back in business supplying arms

to anyone. I suppose that is the last thing we would be told is if he was turned.

[hlthe2b]

3. Well, who knows if he could reconstitute, but reportedly his old contacts have

died or are "retired" from the Biz. What to believe or predict about this is fraught and impossible to validate.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Yes I don't see how the Russians could trust him again.

They don't know if he was flipped or not.

[Johnny2X2X]

7. Bout has 0 value as an arms dealer anymore

But he was/is sort of a cult hero to the Russian people. They held huge protests when the US had him extradited. And I think the reason why he was seen as a hero is he was kind of a counterculture type figure that became a symbol of exposing international hypocrisy. Bout sold weapons to and for the US, he sold weapons to and for just about anyone who would pay. The US made him a marked man when the people he was selling to became the people we no longer wanted him selling to, it was a moving target all the time.

And let's face it., he was getting out of prison in 6-1/2 years anyway, he had no value at all to the US anymore.

[Irish_Dem]

10. His value to Putin now is that the Russian people like Bout?

And can be used for PR purposes?

[Groundhawg]

5. I don't think there is any doubt he will be right back supplying arms

[blm]

11. Nope. New networks are in power now. The arms

trade didn’t put itself on hold for 15 years. Bout has no currently connected organization. And Bout is too well known now to be of any service to the current crop of dealers.

[Swede]

6. Wouldn't he be radioactive in a business that hates publicity?

nt

[Torchlight]

8. My guess: he accidentally falls out of a window before the end of January

After 14 years, his contacts are gone, his infrastructure and distribution networks have been coopted, and frankly, he's now just an embarrassment to Moscow (as well as many other nations).

[sarisataka]

9. I think the real story

Is they have welcomed him back with open arms. They have been trying to get his release for years and he still has some value that they see.

[purr-rat beauty]

12. I'm pretty certain they would in the least...

put him through some rigorous debriefing also known as violent interrogation

if you think of it, once he was caught I am certain his family went through hell.
I don't think they care much for those who are compromised, if you're caught you're done.

it's a psy-op game with putin