Cheney, Paul, duke out foreign policy split in Trump's GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — He called her a warmonger. She called him a terrorist-supporting loser. And on it went Thursday between Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney in the latest Republican contest to influence — or just figure out — President Donald Trump's foreign policy.

At issue are weighty matters of war, America's role in Afghanistan and, more broadly, the world. Paul has long tried to persuade Trump to trust his "America First" instincts and downscale U.S. military actions in places like Afghanistan and Syria. But others with Trump's ear, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, have counseled a more traditional GOP approach to foreign affairs. With Trump ousting hard-line national security adviser John Bolton this week — a firing Paul celebrated — more hawkish lawmakers are concerned about what comes next, particularly on Iran, where Trump seems eager to deal.

But the weighty philosophical questions gave way to an ugly Twitter spat between Paul and Cheney, with a throng of observers chiming in on which political scion Trump likes and even "loves" more. Not helping calm things was the fallout from Trump's cancellation of a Taliban meeting at Camp David that had been set to take place just days before the nation observed the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Cheney on Sept. 8 lined up with Bolton against Trump's Taliban meeting, tweeting: "Camp David is where America's leaders met to plan our response after al Qaeda, supported by the Taliban, killed 3000 Americans on 9/11. No member of the Taliban should set foot there. Ever."

But as the anniversary approached and Trump fired his national security adviser, Paul tweeted on Sept. 10: "The threat of war around the world has been greatly diminished, with John Bolton out of the White House." The next day, he reposted...