Biden and Harris greet freed Americans

The plane carrying prisoners freed from Russia in return for the release of eight Russian detainees, in the largest exchange in decades, arrived at Joint Airbase Andrews. A total of 16 people were freed from Russian custody, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Other foreign citizens held in Russia and several Russian political prisoners also were freed.

Class discussion: Five NATO allies worked the United States in the prisoner swap with Russia. How important are alliances to achieving diplomatic goals? Some politicians and pundits say such prisoner exchanges encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to arrest people to use as bargaining chips. Is that a valid concern? Should we impose travel bans on Russia or other nations to prevent hostage-taking? Or, should people heed government warnings and travel to those places at their own risk?