I note that Trump has somewhat back pedalled on torture.
He and the neoconservatives (which he is not) are both embedded in a nationalistic view of the world and are therefore prepared to flirt with or support torture. Both Trump and the neoconservatives fail to appreciate the ramped up interconnectedness of the modern world. If you understand the implications of the six degrees of separation for foreign policy you cannot support torture.
Torture undermines your moral authority. I as a soldier am very aware of the Nuremberg trials and their implications for my behaviour in war. I will be forced to disobey an unlawful command such as one requiring me to torture. I will also be reluctant to fight beside US soldiers who come from a country that I believe is morally compromised as a result of its torture policies.
I am a former Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong a very diverse city. Many of my residents are displaced persons from war zones. Many were tortured. When you realize how small the world is it is quite possible that you will know someone or will know someone who will know someone who was tortured (the six degrees of separation) in my case my own brother-in-law was tortured. It is only when we see other people as the less than human 'other' that we can subject them to deliberate harm, an action we would condemn if it were applied to us.
If US torture is reserved for (non-white) 'others' it is also inherently racist
