When you watch sufficient Hollywood movies, you finally study that it doesn’t pay to accede to the calls for of blackmailers. At the least within the motion pictures, it at all times appears to result in additional calls for for cash.
Final yr, Russia grabbed a US basketball participant and (implicitly) held her for ransom. Finally, the US authorities relented and traded a Russian arms vendor in change for her launch.
Some may argue that whereas it’s unlucky that we needed to ship a foul man to the Russians, no less than Brittney Griner is now secure and again residence. Sadly, that’s not the tip of the story. The US authorities additionally confirmed the Russians that it might be keen to offer in to blackmail. Thus they’ve now grabbed another American citizen, and can undoubtedly demand new concessions in change for his launch. We gave up a convicted Russian arms vendor and acquired nothing in the long term.
You may argue that we couldn’t have anticipated that the Russians can be so devious. Not so. Right here’s what I wrote the day after the change was introduced:
It’s tempting to view this prisoner swap as a “humanitarian” gesture, however simply the other is true. The truth that Russia’s ways had been profitable insures that extra individuals will likely be used this manner sooner or later. In the long term, there will likely be extra hostages taken on account of the US authorities choice to offer in to the Russian calls for.
We are actually paying the value for the US authorities’s shortsighted decision-making course of.
When you watch sufficient Hollywood movies, you finally study that it doesn’t pay to accede to the calls for of blackmailers. At the least within the motion pictures, it at all times appears to result in additional calls for for cash.
Final yr, Russia grabbed a US basketball participant and (implicitly) held her for ransom. Finally, the US authorities relented and traded a Russian arms vendor in change for her launch.
Some may argue that whereas it’s unlucky that we needed to ship a foul man to the Russians, no less than Brittney Griner is now secure and again residence. Sadly, that’s not the tip of the story. The US authorities additionally confirmed the Russians that it might be keen to offer in to blackmail. Thus they’ve now grabbed another American citizen, and can undoubtedly demand new concessions in change for his launch. We gave up a convicted Russian arms vendor and acquired nothing in the long term.
You may argue that we couldn’t have anticipated that the Russians can be so devious. Not so. Right here’s what I wrote the day after the change was introduced:
It’s tempting to view this prisoner swap as a “humanitarian” gesture, however simply the other is true. The truth that Russia’s ways had been profitable insures that extra individuals will likely be used this manner sooner or later. In the long term, there will likely be extra hostages taken on account of the US authorities choice to offer in to the Russian calls for.
We are actually paying the value for the US authorities’s shortsighted decision-making course of.