This article first appeared on Meaningfulminute.org Viktor Bout is said to be one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth. Known as the Merchant of Death, Bout exploded onto the scene in war-torn West Africa in the late 1980s. Formerly of the USSR intelligence services, Bout took advantage of his Russian military contacts after the collapse of the USSR and became a one-stop shop offering an unlimited supply of stockpiled cold war weapons. He is known in the business as a shadow facilitator, arming designated terrorist groups and powerful drug cartels around the globe. Elevating bloody conflicts from machetes and single-shot rifles to AK47S by the tens of thousands, he weaponized civil war in Africa, transforming young adolescent warriors into killing machines that operated assembly line efficiencies. He fueled the brutal war against civilians in Liberia waged by the warlord Charles Taylor, in which an estimated 300,000 people lost their lives. Bout’s selling point was his private fleet of cargo airplanes (more than 60 planes!), capable of transporting weapons and military equipment anytime and anywhere with pinpoint accuracy. He was convicted on four terror-related charges, including conspiracy to kill Americans. Phoenix Mercury star center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Britney Griner was arrested on drug possession charges at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, where she was found with vape cartridges containing cannabis. Griner claims it was an honest
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