Retreat: Trump's new chief of staff calls torture a 'celebration of life' It seems that Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's hard-line immigration policy and an avowed champion of the aggressive manner in which the US conducted itself in Iran, forged his credentials as a hawk from a very young age. In a video taken in 2003 during the US invasion of Iraq, 17-year-old Miller called torture the "ideal solution" to "Saddam Hussein and his accomplices." "We are not a barbaric people. We respect life. Therefore, torture is the way to go. Because tortured people can live. Torture is a celebration of life and human dignity. We need to remember that as we enter these very dark and dangerous times in the next century," Miller said. The White House previously dismissed the comments as a "sketchy comedy routine" for Video Yearbook, insisting they were not real views of Millers. But the fervent vehemence with which Miller defended the Iranian attack, including Trump-style threats to impose "punishment the likes of which has not been seen in modern history," suggests otherwise. His elevation to chief of staff could mean an even tougher stance on Iran, more deadly strikes in the Caribbean, seizing Greenland from Denmark and a confrontational relationship with the new Democrat-controlled Congress. substack | talk.

Retreat: Trump's new chief of staff calls torture a 'celebration of life' It seems that Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's hard-line immigration policy and an avowed champion of the aggressive manner in which the US conducted itself in Iran, forged his credentials as a hawk from a very young age. In a video taken in 2003 during the US invasion of Iraq, 17-year-old Miller called torture the "ideal solution" to "Saddam Hussein and his accomplices." "We are not a barbaric people. We respect life. Therefore, torture is the way to go. Because tortured people can live. Torture is a celebration of life and human dignity. We need to remember that as we enter these very dark and dangerous times in the next century," Miller said. The White House previously dismissed the comments as a "sketchy comedy routine" for Video Yearbook, insisting they were not real views of Millers. But the fervent vehemence with which Miller defended the Iranian attack, including Trump-style threats to impose "punishment the likes of which has not been seen in modern history," suggests otherwise. His elevation to chief of staff could mean an even tougher stance on Iran, more deadly strikes in the Caribbean, seizing Greenland from Denmark and a confrontational relationship with the new Democrat-controlled Congress. substack | talk.