Podcast
Behind the Bastards
Victor Bout, a notorious arms dealer, referenced George Bernard Shaw's play 'Arms and the Man' in a 2003 New York Times article, suggesting that the lack of laws against arms dealing reflects the complexities of international politics.
And then that to the New York Times and yeah in the piece he drinks carrot juice. He's vegetarian. He calls himself a scapegoat and a family man. He's what a hero. Yeah, every day Joe trying to sell s...
— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 49
Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 49
Victor Bout, a notorious arms dealer, referenced George Bernard Shaw's play 'Arms and the Man' in a 2003 New York Times article, suggesting that the lack of laws against arms dealing reflects the complexities of international politics.
And then that to the New York Times and yeah in the piece he drinks carrot juice. He's vegetarian. He calls himself a scapegoat and a family man. He's what a hero. Yeah, every day Joe trying to sell some Kalashnikovs to people who are doing genocide and he is good. All right. Is this interview how we know a lot about him? Yes that and his this man loves a hand. The home video, right? International crime sprees the best idea we ever had a quirky little dude, but he's not doing crimes in his videos. He just looks like like I from the office who is just like the most mundane dude and ill-fitting suit. He just looks like a salaryman who drives like a regular car and on the weekends likes to let go to Buffalo Wild Wings and what sports events like he? Or to slide with his like white ass body and pot belly at one point in one of these home videos and like he just yeah, he just strikes you as the most boring family guy. Like he's not he seems to be like Martin drugs at one point. It's fascinating and bizarre and what I'm assuming he has children if he's a family man.
He talks about in the article. He's like look they're using me as like this is a thing that like the reason they that it's very hard to prosecute Victor boot is because there are not that many laws against arms dealing and the reason there are not that many laws against arms dealing integral to how we do foreign policy, right? Like we are hosed without people like Victor boot and that's like the other side of this coin that yeah, we need a Nicolas Cage bad to pin this stuff on and yeah, he pretty horrific things or sold weapons to people who did horrific things, but he what he's doing is not that like abnormal and it's not that always illegal and as we'll see when you turn into like gross entrapment to arrest this guy and he is right that like is he really the biggest arms dealer in the world or is that like a dick Cheney or you know, Lockheed Martin or a Raytheon like is he really any more evil than like I live in San Diego right or most of the companies I just mentioned have offices here. I rode past one of them today, you know, and those people also go on the water slide with their kids. He does have a kid. He has a daughter one daughter or child. I don't know boarded in the Emirates and they're 28. So I bet he knows where they are now. Yeah, but he's a great dad. I wore he's been in jail. Yeah, he has a wife to Allah is his wife. Just she was she's a bit younger than him. So also he's really lost weight in jail and he's looking pretty good. Picture of him but with a mustache and stuff. He's really he's having a glow up. I think in jail.