(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) Although the Biden administration has repeatedly denied that it is seeking regime change in Russia, top warmongering institutions like the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institute appear eager to see Russian President Vladimir Putin assassinated, according to Matt Taibbi.
“Regime change: Russia,” wrote Benjamin Wittes, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, in a Feb. 27 tweet.
Wittes was forced to walk back his claim only three hours later.
“For the benefit of anyone confused,” the chasted Wittes wrote, “rather than shilling for Putin, I do not believe in US military involvement in the conflict in Ukraine and have never advocated anything of the kind–much less for the US engaging in forcible regime change in Russia.”
Wittes was joined in diplomatic imprudence by Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Just days ago much of the world was focused on the unwanted prospect of regime change in Ukraine,” Hass tweeted. “Now the conversation has shifted to include the possibility of desired regime change in Russia.”
In response, Taibbi reminded the “experts” of what happened the last time the United States sought regime change in Russia.
“I would like to point out that we already tried regime change in Russia,” Taibbi wrote. “It ended with Vladimir Putin in power.”
Not to be deterred or outdone, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., didn’t pull his punches when asked by Sean Hannity about a March 3 tweet in which he called for Putin’s assassination.
When has Sen. Graham encouraging regime change ever ended badly? https://t.co/W1SbvuMVtP
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 4, 2022
“Is there a Brutus in Russia?” Graham tweeted. “The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out.”
Graham appeared on Hannity’s show two days later and repeated his call.
“It’s clear to me the world would be better off if the Russian people took Putin out tonight,” Graham said.
The White House, for its part, has denied that it is seeking regime change in Russia.
“We are not advocating for killing the leader of a foreign country or regime change,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a March 4 press conference. “That is not the policy of the United States.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also denied the charge, telling the BBC, “we don’t seek that, and in any event it’s not up to us.”
