Hello Will, It's Me - Russia

The phone rang early this morning, urgently, persistently, snapping us awake from a pleasant dream about surging sales rankings and royalties. Mrs. Stroock picked up, 'Yes?' She asked. She handed us the phone. 'It's for you.' 

We took the receiver, 'Yeah,' we asked groggily.

'Is this William Stroock?' a Russian accented voice asked.

'Maxim?' we replied.

'Da, da...'

'How are things at the Kremlin?"

'Not good, Comrade Will. Have you seen what Neocon war monger John Bolton wrote in 1945 yesterday?'

We sat up and put our feet on the floor, 'No.'

'He is calling for regime change in Russia! In Russia! Get to work writing counterargument right away.'

'It's...' We looked at the clock. '4:15 in the morning.'

'The Party demands you get to work right away...Comrade Will. Or I release Kompromot on you presently.'

Maxim hung up.

We shook our head, 'And on Vladimir Putin's birthday, too.'

Writing in 19FortyFive, a publication to which we occasionally contribute, John Bolton calls for regime change in Russia. At the end of the piece, Bolton concludes, 'While Russian regime change may be daunting, America’s goal of a peaceful and secure Europe, episodically pursued goal for over a century, remains central to our national interests. This is no time to be shy.'

'Daunting' Bolton says. Yeah, 'daunting' is the word for regime change, Russian Front. 'Don't be shy,' he says. We urge reader(s) to read the whole thing, as Bolton actually makes some good points about the state of affairs in Russia. What is regime change, he asks? Who's to change? Who's to take over?  But Bolton's thesis and conclusions...Without looking we're sure Neocon thought leader Robert Kagan agrees with Bolton.

We're not mad. We're amazed. Nearly 20 years after the Iraq campaign, Neocons are still calling for 'regime change'. Hey, folks, in 2002, we were all for invading Iraq. We grand designs. Iraq was merely a prelude to regime change Iran and regime change Saudi Arabia. Just grand, wasn't it? The only really successful regime change we can think of is...Afghanistan last year. 'You live, you learn,' Alanis Morrissette sang. We have, we have. Why hasn't Bolton?  

Way back in 2019, during the First Trump Administration, we wrote about John Bolton and Neoconservatism for the Ruskis: 'Eighteen years after September 11th, the United States is still in Afghanistan and has no idea how to win the war. As shown by President Trump’s ongoing trade war with China, Neoconservative ideas on free trade have been largely abandoned by the GOP. John Bolton was a holdover from another time and the last Neoconservative.'

Some speak of peace. Others speak of war. Fools speak of regime change. 

Next week is going to be Russia week here at Stroock's Books. We'll take our own look at the current war (we believe almost nothing that is said about the conflict). We'll rehash some of our Inforos writing. And we'll discuss Putin, whom we've both loathed and admired these many years.