Bolton says Putin on US target list, wants coup in Russia

Bolton says Putin on US target list, wants coup in Russia "Putin is a legitimate military target... he needs to know that he's on our target list at this point," Bolton stated. By Drago Bosnic | October 10, 2022 Just as the world thought that the lack of basic etiquette (diplomatic or any other) in the United States establishment couldn't possibly get worse, that same establishment goes beyond anyone's imagination (or worst nightmares in this particular case). On Friday, October 7, during an interview on CBS, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, infamous for his insistence on starting wars against Venezuela, Iran and North Korea or escalating the ongoing ones (such as Syria, Libya, Yemen, etc), said Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the US target list and threatened he might be assassinated. "I think we should make it clear publicly so that not just Putin but that all the top Russian leadership... that if Putin authorizes the use of a nuclear weapon he's signing his own suicide note," the infamous neoconservative war-hawk said. Bolton insisted that Putin is "a legitimate military target" since he heads the command and control structure of all Russian strategic forces. Bolton further stated that this should be official US policy. "He's a legitimate military target... he needs to know that he's on our target list at this point," he concluded. Bolton's comments effectively boil down to calls for the US to use any opportunity to assassinate the president of Russia. It cannot possibly be overstated just how dangerous, destabilizing and irresponsible such rhetoric is, especially coming from high-ranking officials, whether they currently hold office or not. However, Bolton's statements are simply a continuation of a string of his recent provocative actions. He also discussed an op-ed he recently authored for the online military journal 1945, where he openly called for a coup in Russia. "There is no long-term prospect for peace and security in Europe without regime change in Russia. Russians are already discussing it, quietly, for obvious reasons. For the United States and others pretending that the issue is not before will do far more harm than good," Bolton wrote in the aforementioned op-ed. "To avoid the war simply grinding along indefinitely, we must alter today’s calculus. Carefully assisting Russian dissidents to pursue regime change might just be the answer," he continued. Bolton stated that a color revolution-style coup (or "regime change" as he calls it) was necessary, or at least an attempt to sabotage and cause division in the Russian establishment from the inside. "Actually effecting regime change is doubtless the hardest problem, but it does not require foreign military forces. The key is for Russians themselves to exacerbate divisions among those with real authority, the siloviki, the 'men of power.' Disagreements and animosities already exist, as in all authoritarian regimes, exploitable as dissidents set their minds to it. Boris Yeltsin standing on a tank outside the Russian White House in 1991 evidenced the fracturing of the Soviet ruling class. Once regime coherence and solidarity shatter, change is possible," Bolton wrote. John Bolton is so infamously hawkish that he called former US Defense Secretary James Mattis (also a retired US Marine Corps general nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "Chaos") too "soft". One of the very first things Bolton did while serving as the US National Security Advisor was to make sure the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal (officially JCPOA). Immediately after, Bolton refocused on advocating for invasions and/or coups in Iran, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, Cuba, Yemen, North Korea, etc. His warmongering became too much of a liability and a major point of contention between Bolton and the then president Trump, so much so that he was eventually fired after approximately a year and a half in office. Although Bolton's comments may be dismissed or ignored altogether, they will surely not go unnoticed in Moscow, as Russia is faced with increasingly aggressive actions and warlike rhetoric coming from the political West, particularly the US. Such statements come at a time when tensions are escalating by the day, especially as other US officials, both former and current, have been commenting in a similar fashion. This also includes US President Joe Biden himself, whose "nuclear apocalypse" remarks stunned the world in recent days. It is also not the first time the US has called for a coup in Russia. In late March, President Biden stated the same during a speech in Warsaw, when he said that "Putin cannot remain in power", which later prompted many White House spokespeople to try and distort the remarks. In contrast, Russia and its top brass have exercised restraint. There have been no reciprocal comments or actions in response to such blatant threats, but there have been warnings that Russia will defend itself by any means necessary. However, even these state