He went beyond saying that they had no plans to use drones in the US to take a swipe at the hawk position that the military was the only appropriate vector with which to address terrorism; "terrorism is not a law enforcement problem" was practically the motto of the Cheney shadow Defense Department.
I'm choosing my words carefully there, by the way. I don't remember the actual wording, but that was literally one of Cheney's doctrines.
The former vice president, who is promoting his memoir, defended Obama against critics who challenge the legality of Friday's attack because al-Awlaki was an American citizen.
"I think the president ought to have that kind of authority to order that kind of strike, even when it involves an American citizen," Cheney said.
"It is different between a law enforcement action and a war," Cheney said. "And we are at war. We believe we are in war. We believe the war started when they killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11."
I'm choosing my words carefully there, by the way. I don't remember the actual wording, but that was literally one of Cheney's doctrines.