Yesterday was indeed a day for celebration. The hostages — sixteen of them — had been released and were safely back in the U.S. or in Germany, reuniting with family and friends at last.
Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan
But that was yesterday. Today, for the rest of the world at least, life goes on. And so it does for the hostage-prisoners remaining in Putin’s prisons. In addition to an unknown number of Russian citizens being charged daily with “crimes” ranging from “insulting the military” to “spreading false information” to full-fledged treason, there are, at last count, eight Americans remaining in prison in Russia on similarly imaginary charges. They are:
Marc Fogel Robert Romanov Woodland Staff Sergeant Gordon Black Robert Gilman Ksenia Karelina David Barnes Eugene Spector Michael Travis Leake
While it is heart-warming indeed to see my list shrunk to this level, it is still eight names too long. And I shall continue to publish their names weekly, at the same time hoping that they, too, are or soon will be the subjects of behind-the-scenes negotiations for their release.
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But when will we stop playing games with human lives? The so-called “lower” species of animals would never do this to their own.
Last night I had a Klondike bar and some Haagen-Dazs, to celebrate. Then, having lined my stomach with an adequate amount of cream, I reached into the freezer once more . . . for the vodka bottle. I may be old, but I have’t forgotten how to party.
The one thing Russia gets right.
The celebration, of course, is for the now former hostages: Evan Gershkovich, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan, and all the others who have finally made it back to freedom. Welcome home, each and every one of you. May your family reunions be joyous, and your healing be swift.
Needless to say, those families will be staging their own celebrations today, perhaps some quietly and others less so, depending on their returning loved ones’ wishes. And whether they choose to celebrate initially with or without outside friends, with or without food and drink, with or without singing and dancing, I’d bet on one thing: there’ll be a whole lotta huggin’ goin’ on!
But every happy event has to have one wet blanket, and this one is no exception. His name, of course, is Donald J. Trump. Even at a momentous occasion such as this, he finds it impossible to see one ray of sunshine, or to offer an iota of praise to those who made it possible. Instead, he sulks because someone else — his customary punching bag Joe Biden, at that — accomplished what he could not. Because the spotlight is not focused on him. And if he has to prevaricate to make his twisted point, so be it. As always, his own words are the best indicator of his character; and I will let those words (posted on his ironically-named Truth Social site) speak for him:
“So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Our ‘negotiators’ are always an embarrassment to us! I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHING — and never any cash.” [Alex Leary, Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2024.]
Narcissism “trumps” decency, every single time.
Gracious to the core, Donnie is. Now let’s try a bit of fact-checking:
1) White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that no money had been exchanged and no sanctions eased to facilitate the exchange. (Whether there was any other consideration involved, we will probably never know. Some things need to remain classified.)
2) We released eight criminals, including an FSB assassin, and got back sixteen innocent political prisoners. In terms that even Trump will easily understand, that’s like doubling your money.
3) While the Trump administration did participate in prisoner swaps, there were not “many” hostages involved, as he claimed; and those few were exchanged for prisoners from our side. In 2019, one American and one Australian were freed by the Taliban in return for three high-profile Taliban members released by the Afghan government. And in 2020, American Michael White was released by Iran in exchange for dual U.S.-Iranian citizen Matteo Taerri. [WSJ, id.]
So yes, there were swaps on Trump’s watch — just not a lot of them, and not for “nothing,” as Trump claims. As usual, gross exaggeration is proven to be just what it is: a lot of self-serving b.s.
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But enough about that. This is a day to rejoice, to welcome the hostages home, and to congratulate all those who made it possible. Tomorrow may be back to business as usual for the world, but today we celebrate.
Sixteen hostages are free today, and are on their way home from their Russian prisons. And eight Russian prisoners are likewise on their way back to their homeland from locations in the U.S. and elsewhere. It is a day to celebrate, and to thank all those — most of whom shall undoubtedly remain anonymous — involved in this long, incredibly complex, multi-nation negotiation.
Scene of the Exchange at Ankara, Turkiye
I have written much, and thought constantly, about the ongoing hostage situation over the past months. It has become such an obsession, one would have thought that at least one of the hostages was a relative or personal friend of mine. But that is not the case. It was just righteous anger at an unspeakable injustice, which I chose to direct through words, not violence. And today I celebrate . . . not because I played any part in it, but simply because my hopes and prayers — and those of so many others — have at last been granted.
I could go into detail, as far as is known, about the background of the story. But I have already done much of that, and the current news is of course being widely covered in the news media. The truth is, I’m too excited today to think straight. But I want to say a personal “thank you” to some major players.
First and foremost, of course, is President Joe Biden. It was revealed today that, just hours before announcing his withdrawal from the presidential election campaign, he was still working on the final steps of the prisoner exchange. He has devoted himself to this cause for — not just months — but years. The negotiations have, of necessity, been kept secret, as such matters always are. And he has endured the slings and arrows of his opponents as to his competence while performing behind-the-scenes acts such as this. So, to President Biden, I say thank you. In my humble opinion, your legacy is secure.
President Biden with daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva
So many countries have been involved in the performance of this miracle: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, even Belarus. But I must give special props to one whom I have lambasted over the past several months: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As a member of NATO and a partner to the EU, he has nonetheless maintained a friendly relationship with Vladimir Putin. I am not the only one who has found his fence-sitting to be intolerable. But today I must say that it has proven to be advantageous. When one straddles the line between two regions, it is possible to see both sides at once. And in this case, his offers to negotiate this exchange actually proved beneficial. So, thank you for that. (But don’t take it as a sign of blanket approval; that’s not gonna happen.)
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkiye
And to the dozens (perhaps hundreds) of people who must have been involved behind the scenes . . . well done! You should all sleep soundly tonight.
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Now, in the interest of getting this posted, I’m going to cut it short here. I’m sure I’ll have more to say tomorrow, but for now . . .
Welcome home, hostages! It’s a glorious day.
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Meanwhile, in some parallel universe, JD Vance credits Donald Trump with the release of the hostages, saying that it was only accomplished because Russia realized Trump was about to be re-elected (in their opinion), and they (Russia) had better “clean house” in advance before they had to deal with the tough guy.
Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk (left), with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban– March 21, 2024
What on earth is happening here? It looks to me as though Donald Tusk is either (1) warning Viktor Orban that a flock of cranes is about to swoop down on them, or (2) telling him that the Man Upstairs is not happy with his recent political activities.
I vote for the latter.
It doesn’t require a great deal of insight to reach that conclusion. Orban is well known to be the most Kremlin-friendly of all of the leaders in the EU. He has been selling himself to Vladimir Putin as the person who is best suited to negotiate a settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and has even — without EU knowledge or approval — engaged in some one-man shuttle diplomacy, traveling to Moscow, Kyiv and Beijing to promote his absurdly egotistical notion.
And he has formed a coalition of like-minded fellow EU members, calling themselves Patriots for Europe, to attempt to reformulate a Habsburg-like empire to lead their idea of a new, extreme-nationalist Europe.
Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941)
Is it any wonder, then, that tensions have arisen among the EU members, and most particularly between Hungary and Poland, which — like most European nations — is a staunch, supportive ally of Ukraine.
Last weekend, Orban threw down the gauntlet to Poland:
“The Poles are pursuing the most sanctimonious and the most hypocritical policy in the whole of Europe. They are lecturing us morally, criticizing us for our economic relations with Russia, and at the same time they are doing business with the Russians and buying oil indirectly, and running the Polish economy with it.” [Vanessa Gera and Balint Domotor, Associated Press, July 30, 2024.]
And the response on Sunday from Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski pulled no punches:
“We do not do business with Russia, unlike Prime Minister Orban, who is on the margins of international society — both in terms of European Union and NATO.” [AP, id.]
The Combatants: Orban (left) and Bartoszewski
Note that, while Poland — like a number of other European nations — was once dependent on Russian energy, it has been weaning itself off of Russian oil and gas for years. [AP, id.]
Orban’s relations with both Russia and China, and his recent unsanctioned travels to both countries, have brought about a boycott by top EU officials of meetings being hosted by Hungary during its current six-month rotating term as president of the EU.
Poland’s Bartoszewski had more to say:
“If you don’t want to be a member of a club, you can always leave. I don’t really understand why Hungary wants to remain a member of organizations [referencing the EU and NATO] that it doesn’t like so much and which supposedly treat it so badly.” [AP, id.]
And so it goes.
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When I visited Budapest in 1990, it was a country newly separated from Soviet rule, happily reestablishing itself as an independent, democratic nation. I freely strolled through the city; enjoyed a private tour of the magnificent Parliament building; traveled by boat to the artists’ enclave at Szentendre; ate goulash by the ton; and talked with lawyers and others about Hungary’s bright future.
It is sad to see it now turning in a dangerous direction. But it is still more worrisome to consider the possibility that other European leaders might possibly join with Orban in his misguided attempt to reinvent a failed empire.
This is a real-life puzzler, involving the sudden, unannounced, and unexplained movement of about a dozen political prisoners in Russia, of various nationalities, from their respective prison locations to unknown destinations. I alluded to it yesterday, and there are more specifics today.
Suddenly “missing” are several high-profile Russian oppositionists, including politician Ilya Yashin; co-founder of the rights group Memorial, Oleg Orlov; artist/musician Sasha Skochilenko; and two colleagues of the late Alexei Navalny, Ksenia Fadeyeva and Lilia Chanysheva. And — perhaps most notably dropped out of sight — is former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, currently the longest-held of the American hostages. [Eva Hartog, Politico, July 31, 2024.]
Paul Whelan
The locations of Russian-British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza (last seen in the prison hospital at penal colony IK-7 in Omsk) and Russian-German Kevin Liik are similarly “unclear.”
And significantly, there has been no recent mention of American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, recently sentenced to 16 years in a Russian penal colony at Yekaterinburg; or of Russian FSB hitman Vadim Krasikov, currently serving a life sentence for the murder of a Chechen emigre in Berlin, Germany — both of whom have figured prominently in media speculation concerning a possible exchange arrangement. [Politico, id.]
Evan Gershkovich
There is also the matter of Rico Kroeger, the German citizen recently convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to death in Belarus. Only this week, Belarus presumptive president Aleksandr Lukashenko unexpectedly commuted Kroeger’s sentence to life in prison.
And — perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not — on Wednesday a Russian couple in Slovenia were convicted of espionage and ordered expelled.
Oh, and by the way . . .
It seems that the names of a number of high-profile Russians being held in U.S. prisons on various charges — including Maksim Marchenko, Vadim Konoshchenok, Vladislav Klyushin, Roman Seleznev, and Aleksandr Vinnik — have recently been removed from the American federal prisoner database. It is highly unlikely that they all managed to escape at once. [Politico, id.]
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And all of that, according to the political pundits and the rumor mills, is looking like the lead-in to a prisoner exchange of extraordinary proportions. But why now — in fact, why at all — when relations between Russia and the United States are at an historically low ebb? Why would Vladimir Putin agree to a concession of this magnitude?
Well, we know he does nothing without a self-serving reason. There are Russians being held in foreign prisons whose government would like to have returned. It is no secret that this is at least part of the reason for the recent round-up of so many Americans and others on specious charges of espionage, failing to register as a “foreign agent,” or simply of spreading “false information.” They are Putin’s Pawns in his very extensive, very high-stakes chess game.
Vadim Krasikov, FSB Assassin
But, again, why specifically now? The big money seems to be on the upcoming U.S. election, and whom Putin might have to deal with later. Based on the history of recent years, one might think that he would prefer to negotiate with his good “friend” and admirer, Donald Trump. But it turns out that Trump — color me surprised! — is not such a loyal friend after all. In addition to claiming that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of being elected, he has made similar boasts about securing Evan Gershkovich’s release. It’s all about boosting his own image. In May, Trump wrote:
“Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” – The Godfather (1974)
Well, good for you, Donnie. But Putin is infinitely smarter than you could ever hope to be. And he does nothing for nothing. With Joe Biden in office, he has a president he can deal with on reasonable terms, who sincerely cares about the welfare of those hostages, and who knows you have to give something to get something back.
So, let’s hope the experts are right, and there is big — and, for once, good — news in the offing. It is long, long overdue.
The reports are calling it a pardon. What it really is, is a commutation from a death sentence to life in prison. But it is a hopeful sign — although a sign of what, remains to be seen.
Rico Kroeger
Arrested in October, accused of acting as a mercenary (presumably on behalf of Ukraine) and of planting explosives, he is the first Western citizen known to have been given the death penalty in Belarus. And now, following international condemnation for the harshness of the sentence, Belarus’ presumptive president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has stepped forward and commuted Kroeger’s sentence to life imprisonment.
What a guy! Or so say Belarusian state media, praising Lukashenko’s “merciful” action, and claiming the Germans had abandoned their own citizen (not true). And Lukashenko quietly released a number of political prisoners earlier this month as well.
Aleksandr Lukashenko: Mr. Nice Guy?
But what is really behind this sudden turn of events? Could Belarus be making a peace offering to the West? Not likely . . . at least, not without the backing of Vladimir Putin. In fact, the more likely scenario is that Putin is, as usual, pulling the strings for this show.
And that inevitably raises more questions than answers. But in the meantime, cheers to Rico Kroeger. Even the smallest ray of hope is worth celebrating.
It could be an Olympic sport: jumping head-first into the world news each morning, leaping from one disaster to another, fighting to maintain your focus. You have to prepare for it, train your mind and your body to anticipate the shocks to your system, and develop your best cool-down methods. And then you must accept the fact that your body will only be able to tolerate this punishment for a finite number of years before the inevitable collapse.
You want examples? No problem. These are just a few samples from yesterday’s (July 30, 2024) headlines:
Croatia: Six killed after gunman opens fire in care home, local media reports.
– Dreadful! Harmless, helpless old folks . . .
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A third girl has died in the UK after one of the worst attacks on children in decades.
– Omigod! Children!
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Children and teens among 12 dead in Golan Heights attack that Israel blames on Hezbollah, raising fears of major escalation.
– More innocent children! I feel sick.
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Israeli attacks kill at least 19 Palestinians, including children, across Gaza.
– Stop! I can’t take any more!
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Wait . . . this just in: Hamas Political Leader Ismail Haniyeh Killed in Iran.
– Didn’t I just say I couldn’t take any more? Weren’t you listening?!!
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And I haven’t even touched on the day’s political updates from Russia, China, North Korea, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus, or the U.S. presidential election.
So please excuse me while I take the rest of the day off. My mind just shut down.
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