Ain't No Such Thing as a Democratic Cruise Missile and a Republican Cruise Missile

Eli,

As you know I strongly oppose this and the previous administration's use of drones in targeted killings, or in plain language, assassinations.

Jeremy Scahill was at The Commonwealth Club talking about his book, “The Assassination Complex.” Scahill talks about the drone program, started under Bush, expanded under Obama. He mentions all of the candidates for President support the program. Including Bernie Sanders, who was asked directly if he supported President’s Obama’s Kill List. Bernie said yes.

The whole podcast is worth a listen, but especially this, starting around minute 38.

He has spent his credibility dollars to normalize assassination as a central component of American foreign-policy and has managed to codify as the law of the land policies that Dick Cheney would've never been able to enact, and anything even vaguely resembling a legal way.  And that’s, that's the raw deal here. That is the unvarnished truth about what happened under Obama. He made it possible for the phrase “President Trump's Kill List” to be uttered in this country. That is a possibility. And I wonder how many liberals who said, “Oh, I trust Obama with the kill list. I’m fine with drone strikes. Oh an American citizen being killed? Yea, you can drop me a percentage point on that support.” That was a real thing that was happening at the height of the drone wars.  Liberals, MSNBC viewers, loved the drone strikes. How many of those people, if polled, on just, “What do you think about the phrase, ‘President Trump's Kill List’” would say,  “Great. Love it.” I don't think a lot of them would. And I don’t think Bernie Sanders would either. But he wasn’t asked about a President Trump Kill List. He was asked about a President Obama Kill List.  As though there's a such thing as a Democratic cruise missile and a Republican cruise missile. There ain’t.

Bill.