You could hear a pin drop as the former Vice-President, the late Dick Cheney, described what it was like to be at the White House during the 9-11 crisis that occurred Sept. 11, 2001.
Cheney was speaking to 250 members of the Republican Party at a Lincoln Day dinner in Cody on May 25, 2018. His daughter, Wyoming’s former U. S. Representative Liz Cheney, was interviewing her father as part of a program lined up for that night.
Big Night For Wyoming Politics
And it was a very big night. Political leaders from all over the state plus GOP candidates for all the major offices were there, along with their entourages.
But this night belonged to Cheney.
The former Vice-President, who served with President George W. Bush from 2000 to 2008, had received a heart transplant six years earlier. He looked vibrant and healthy at the age of 77 on this night seven years ago.
Cheney spoke matter-of-factly, as he recounted that fateful day when almost 3,000 American citizens died in terrorist attacks.
Although it certainly was not a funny moment at the time, some folks chuckled when Cheney recalled a burly secret service agent walking into his office, grabbing him by the collar and his belt and literally hefting him in the air and whisking him out of the room.
The White House staff all knew about the commercial airliners that had crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City but now it was determined that a hijacked airliner was headed toward Washington D. C.
Cheney was whisked to the war room deep beneath the capitol complex and then was faced with a horrible decision.
Cheney recalled: “Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said he thought there four to six planes that had been hijacked. And I was told an airliner was headed our way. Should our fighters shoot it down?”
That ‘Order’
“I gave the order to shoot down that plane,” he recalled.
The fighters were too late to intercept the first airliner, which ultimately crashed into the Pentagon.
The second airliner was the famous Flight 93, whose passengers had been called by relatives telling them about the Twin Towers crashes. “Those brave souls took their own plane down killing themselves but saving countless others,” Cheney concluded.
Cheney, 84, died this week from complications of heart disease and pneumonia.,
Cheney who has resided in Jackson for years, has lived one of the most amazing careers in American politics. He was the youngest presidential chief of staff in history (for President Gerald Ford), a U. S Representative for Wyoming, a Secretary of Defense during the first Gulf War, and then Vice-President for eight years during the George W. Bush administration.
Most Influential Veep In History
Wyoming’s own Cheney was the most influential and powerful vice-president in American history.
I have known Dick Cheney for over 48 years. I first knew Cheney as a newspaper editor when he was our lone U. S. Representative. I also recall a nice personal chat with him at a political event in Jackson in 2002.
That day, many people considered this man in front of me as the most powerful man alive. I felt privileged and appreciative that he recalled our earlier meetings together.
Some 15 years earlier, we had an almost opposite situation when it came to spending time together. We ran into each other at Denver’s Stapleton Airport. We had a nice visit over lunch. He was headed back to D. C. and I was headed home from a trip somewhere.
At the time, I shared with him my thoughts on some serious national issues and he really paid attention, which has always been one of his trademarks. He addressed each of my issues carefully and presented intelligent, well thought out answers.
On that night in Cody when asked what his favorite job was during all these times, amazingly, I recall, he said Secretary of Defense had to top the list.
He heaped massive praise on the members of the military and recalled some interesting times with Gen. Colin Powell, then head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.
He called the efforts of the American forces “magnificent.” He was proud that the USA could do things that no other military force in the world could do.
“We used stealth technology and precision missile strikes, which no other country possessed,” he said.
Did 9-11 Change Cheney?
Cheney was quoted in an interview in 2009 in the London Daily Telegraph: "I've heard occasional speculation that I'm a different man after 9/11. I wouldn't say that, but I'll freely admit that watching a coordinated, devastating attack on our country from an underground bunker at the White House can affect how you view your responsibilities."
Cheney wrapped up that interview, which was somewhat critical of the Bush-Cheney administration with: "To the very end of our administration, we kept al-Qaeda terrorists busy with other problems. We focused on getting their secrets instead of sharing ours with them.
“And on our watch, they never hit this country again. After the most lethal and devastating terrorist attack ever, 7- 1/2 years without a repeat is not a record to be rebuked and scorned. It's indisputably an achievement of the Bush-Cheney administration that it prevented the US from being attacked after 9/11.”
Saturday Night Live
Cheney was so famous a movie called VICE was made about him. Although biting, it offered some funny stuff about this very serious man.
He was often the butt of funny skits on the NBC show Saturday Night Live. With fame comes fun.
During the show on April 10, 2002, the opening sequence was a spoof of Cheney (played by Darrell Hammond) advising Condi Rice on how to handle her upcoming Sept. 11 Commission questioning.
Janet Jackson played Dr. Rice and the 10-minute sketch was hilarious. And it showed, once again, how far up the ladder of our nation’s consciousness this Wyoming boy had climbed.
The punch line of the skit was Cheney seriously advising Dr. Rice, that if all else fails, she might consider “flashing” a certain part of her anatomy to the committee.
Famous Cheney-Simpson Story
Back to that Cody event, the local hometown hero, former U. S. Senator Al Simpson (who died earlier this year), was the emcee and asked Cheney to tell his version of one of the most famous political stories in Wyoming lore.
Cheney: “Al and I were running for reelection for our two seats during the same campaign period. I had spent the night in Lander at Judge Jack Nicholas’ home but needed to get up early and get to Riverton for a radio interview.
“The radio station was always on the edge of Riverton near the Wind River and I pulled in and dashed through the front door.”
“Next thing I knew there was woman in front of me in her nightgown. She was vacuuming as I recall. A baby was crawling in the corner. I asked her if this was the radio station?”
“No,” the woman said, “they just moved downtown. We just moved here. By the way, who are you?”
Cheney then paused, and told the Cody crowd he said to the woman: “My name is Al Simpson and I am running for the Senate. I would very much appreciate your vote.”
Then he dashed out of the house and headed downtown to the real radio station building.
Bill Sniffin can be reached at: Bill@CowboyStateDaily.com
