Hopefully, something like this:

Spook: "Are you Viktor Bout"
Bout: "Yes"
*pwert pwert*

Well that makes a bit more sense then. So he got caught up in an ongoing operation as opposed to being specifically targeted because we got sick of him.

Yes I did mean that but I overlooked the part about the DEA in Colombia, this makes a bit more sense now.

No, we targeted him specifically. We've been trying to get him since Clinton was in office. But since the DEA (an American agency) caught him for conspiring to help kill Americans, isn't it fair that we get to prosecute him?

Yes it is. :D

We should just kill him. The trial is going to take forever

Amen. I also don't think this should be controversial to American gun owners, either. I think we should all be happy that Bout no longer will be able to sell weapons to the most reprehensible killers on the planet, some of whom would use those weapons to kill Americans.

We live in a messed-up world where bad people win and go unpunished all the time. It's nice to see the good guys win every once in a while. And this is one of those times.

First of all, as long as he's in custody and not selling weapons, that by itself is important.

Second, the case against him is very, very strong. And as slow as the American justice system can be, it's still better than some messed-up international court (where killers like Slobodan Milosevic and Foday Sankoh actually died in custody before they could face trial).

Heart of the argument right here: Matters such as that shouldn't be handled by a law enforcement agency such as the DEA. The DoJ shouldn't be concerning itself with activities in foreign countries like this. Our involvement in Colombia is akin to our involvement in Vietnam, but longer, quieter, and with federal agents in place of real soldiers; a small struggling country with some left-leaning civil war issues that we give some half assed support to for far too long without accomplishing anything because it wouldn't be politically prudent to do so.

I don't understand...you are saying that because you think we shouldn't be in Colombia, Viktor Bout is somehow justified selling weapons to FARC? The DEA also arrested Bout in Thailand, a country which has an extradition treaty with the U.S. If two countries have an extradition treaty, there is nothing wrong with having a wanted criminal arrested and prosecuted under one of those countries' criminal justice systems. That's why extradition treaties exist in the first place. It's not like we kidnapped Bout while he was in Russia (if we had, that would be extraordinary rendition).

And for the record, Colombia is nothing like Vietnam. FARC is also currently breathing its dying breaths. Our involvement in Colombia actually represents a successful example of counterinsurgency.

Yes. He has no allegiance to the United States or Colombia.

He didn't commit any crimes in the United States. He's being extradited to the United States for breaking United States laws in countries that are not the United States. If anything he's Colombia's problem and they should be the ones dealing with him.

Since when, the 1970's? That's an awfully long time. And it's still not over. And even if FARC does collapse that won't end the drug trade that funds it, which means the DEA's involvement will continue. And then what? Will Colombia fall into the same situation Mexico has found itself in with criminal power decentralizing and balkanizing once FARC disbands?