Word: cheneys
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Norm Schwarzkopf, under pressure, was an active volcano. I occasionally found myself in transoceanic shouting matches with him that were full of barracks profanity. The cussing meant nothing; blowing up acted as a safety valve for his frustrations. Cheney occasionally required my reassurance that we had the right man in Riyadh; at one point, he said, "This is for all the marbles, you know. The presidency is riding on this one. Are you absolutely confident about Schwarzkopf?" I told him that my faith in Norm was total...
...start the ground war, to the 26th. He had the latest weather report in hand, he said, and bad weather was predicted for the 24th and 25th, maybe clearing on the 26th. Bad weather equaled reduced air support, which equaled higher casualties. I was on the spot. So far, Cheney had accepted my counsel. But now I did not feel that Norm was giving me sufficiently convincing arguments to take back to Cheney and the President. What should I expect next, a postponement to the 28th...
...would have to give the President and Secretary Cheney a recommendation soon as to when to stop, I told Norm. The television coverage, I added, was starting to make it look as if we were engaged in slaughter for slaughter's sake...
...Cheney and I were back at the White House, where we joined the President in the small office off the Oval Office. I took note of the time the President made his final decision to suspend hostilities, 5:57. It was the Commander in Chief's decision to make, and he had made it. Every member of his policymaking team agreed. Schwarzkopf and I agreed. And there is no doubt in my mind that if Norm or I had had the slightest reservation about stopping now, the President would have given us all the time we needed...
...President and then Cheney came on the line to congratulate him. "Helluva job, Norm," the President said...