Torture fans have to stick together
by digby
I’m surprised that anyone would have assumed Dick Cheney wouldn’t back Trump. Trump is his kind of guy. They have a lot in common. They both believe in American military dominance although Trump wants to turn it into a protection racket to pay for his yuuuuge military build-up. But where they really agree is on the issue of fighting terrorism by any means necessary which means torture, mass surveillance, targeted assassination of family members, whatever it takes.
Trump is almost certainly a proponent of Cheney’s One Percent Doctrine even though he has likely never heard of it which is defined as “”Even if there’s just a 1 percent chance of the unimaginable coming due, act as if it is a certainty. It’s not about ‘our analysis,’ as Cheney said. It’s about ‘our response.’ ” And let’s just say that when it comes to “evidence” Cheney wasn’t exactly demanding. And when it comes to “analysis” Trump doesn’t know the meaning of the word.
Nobody sane takes that position except Cheney. But I feel quite sure that Trump would agree with it. Trump would define it differently. He thinks this is all about “respect” and that you have to hit hard and without warning so enemies and allies alike understand who’s boss. Cheney probably wouldn’t say it that way, but it amounts to the same thing.
I’m sure Cheney doesn’t like Trump’s slagging the Iraq war. But I’m not sure he cares much either. He’s a very confident man. I would guess that he sees in Trump someone who could be put to good use, just as he put the callow “W” to good use.
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