Garčević, Hare, and Woodward Comment on Release of Brittney Griner
BU Today interviewed Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Ambassador Paul Hare, Pardee School Senior Lecturer, and John D. Woodward Jr., Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, on the swap of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for American basketball star Brittney Griner who has been imprisoned in Russia since February.
In discussing their views on the prisoner swap, all three professors note that it was an important show of the United States caring for its citizens; however, Woodward argues “there is absolutely no equivalence between the two” captives as one was properly convicted in a court of law (Bout) while the other was wrongfully imprisoned (Griner). The three also offered insights on the security risks of releasing Bout, the negotiation and release of other U.S. citizens including Paul Whelan, as well as whether this deal will encourage other rogue leaders to kidnap Americans to seek diplomatic ends.
The full interview can be read on BU Today‘s website.
During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about Ambassador Garčević on his faculty profile.
Ambassador Paul Hare was a British diplomat for 30 years and the British ambassador to Cuba from 2001-04. He now teaches classes at Boston University on Diplomatic Practice, Arms Control, Intercultural Communication, and on Cuba in Transition. His novel, “Moncada — A Cuban Story,” set in modern Cuba, was published in 2010. His book, “Making Diplomacy Work; Intelligent Innovation for the Modern World” was published in 2015. Learn more about Professor Hare on his faculty profile.
John D. Woodward, Jr. is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. During his twenty-year CIA career, John served as an operations officer in the Clandestine Service and as a technical intelligence officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology, with assignments in Washington D.C., East Asia, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. His publications include Biometrics: Identity Assurance in the Information Age (McGraw-Hill, 2003) and Army Biometric Applications: Identifying and Addressing Sociocultural Concerns (RAND, 2001). Read more about Professor Woodward on his faculty profile.