"Recognize that Dick Cheney is the most cynical political figure to hold high office in this country since his former boss Dick Nixon. And he is perfectly willing to say what he thinks will advance him, particularly in an election season. In 1994, he was, at least in his own mind, competing for the Republican nomination for President in 1996. In 2000 of course he was competing for the vice presidency. In both cases he needed to seem to be a mainstream and responsible figure. But the real Dick Cheney, the man who was secretary of defense in 1990 and produced a secret plan for invading Iraq and capturing Saddam Hussein that was ultimately rejected by Norman Schwarzkopf and others, I don't think ever relinquished his desire to take control of Iraq and its oil."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Businesspeople from the United StatesMembers of the United States House of RepresentativesVice Presidents of the United StatesUnited States Secretaries of DefenseRepublican Party (United States) politicians
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
John Nichols, author of Dick: The Man Who is President, reconciling the perceived change of heart Cheney had over toppling Saddam after 9/11, CSNBC 8-18-07
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (January 30, 1941 – November 3, 2025) was the 46th vice president of the United States, serving under President George W. Bush. Previously, he served as White House chief of staff, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming, and Secretary of Defense. In the private sector, he was the chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton Energy Services.
68 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Dick Cheney →
Related Quotes
"Let us rid ourselves of the fiction that low oil prices are somehow good for the United States."
"I think that the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we we're going to remove Saddam Husse…"
"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is not very da…"
"Because if we had gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. It wou…"
"The good Lord didn't see fit to put oil and gas only where there are democratically elected regimes friendly to the U…"
"Oil remains fundamentally a government business. While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the M…"
"The suggestion that somehow, because this was a close election, we should fundamentally change our beliefs I just thi…"
"We also have to work, though, sort of the dark side, if you will."
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction; there is no doubt that he i…"
"Principle is okay up to a certain point, but principle doesn't do any good if you lose."