Exceptional

by Dick Cheney

  and Lend-Lease program, 18–19, 21

  Marshall and Morgenthau meeting with, 14–16

  and Nazi expansion in Europe, 12

  and need for building and equipping U.S. Army, 14–16

  North Africa campaign and, 25

  as Time Man of the Year, 23

  and Truman as vice president, 32

  and U.S. aid in World War II, 17–19, 21, 226–27

  and U.S. as “last best hope of earth,” 258

  and U.S. leadership in World War II, 40

  and U.S. role in world, 226–27

  Rouhani, Hassan, 175, 190

  Rubaie, Mowaffak al-, 142

  Rusk, Dean, 53

  Russert, Tim, 100

  Russia

  and American leadership and supremacy, 3

  and appeasement, 171, 194–205

  Baltic states and, 203, 204, 220, 249, 250

  Budapest Memorandum and, 250

  Bush (George W.) and, 195

  Central Europe and, 197–98

  China and, 224

  Crimea and, 202, 203, 204, 212

  Czechoslovakia and, 197, 198–99

  and decline in U.S. influence, 224–25

  Denmark and, 204

  Europe and, 196–98, 203, 249

  European dependence on energy supplies from, 237, 251

  European leaders letter to Obama about, 197–98

  expansion of, 194–95, 212, 249–50

  Georgia invasion by, 197

  INF Treaty and, 201–2, 204, 218, 251, 253

  inspections of nuclear program in, 201

  and Iran, 182, 183, 204

  Lithuania and, 204

  and Middle East, 204

  missiles and, 197, 198–99, 201–2, 216–17

  moral similarities between U.S. and, 196

  and New START Treaty, 200–201, 216–17, 251

  nuclear program/weapons in, 200, 201–2, 203–4, 217, 218, 252

  Obama and, 126, 202, 203, 218

  Obama’s visit to, 195–97

  oil in, 237, 251

  Poland and, 197, 198–99, 204

  Putin’s goals for, 194–95, 196–97, 204, 249

  “reset” of U.S. relations with, 195, 197, 204–5

  and restoring American power, 233, 242, 249–50, 252, 253

  sanctions on, 203, 251

  Snowden in, 199–200

  Syria and, 166

  as threat to U.S., 216, 242

  Ukraine and, 202–3, 204, 212, 220, 233, 250, 251

  United Kingdom and, 203

  and U.S. blame for tensions, 195, 196

  and U.S. defense spending, 212

  and U.S. as “last best hope of earth,” 258

  and U.S. military option, 203, 249–50

  See also Soviet Union; specific person

  Sadat, Anwar, 92

  Salafi-jihadist groups, 154

  Sarkozy, Nicolas, 182

  satellites: and space warfare, 223

  Saudi Arabia, 78, 168, 219, 239

  Schabowski, Gunter, 87

  Schieffer, Bob, 163

  Scowcroft, Brent, 73

  SEAL Team Six: and killing of bin Laden, 153–54

  Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Senate, 114

  September 11, 2001

  Article 5 and, 53

  and authorizations for NSA, 105, 106

  Benghazi attack on anniversary of, 156–61

  Cheney’s memories about, 100

  description of attacks on, 99–100

  and isolationism as no protection against terrorism, 118, 119

  K. S. Mohammed as al Qaeda mastermind for, 108

  Obama’s focus on terrorists of, 155, 156

  Obama’s views about, 128

  and restoring American power, 240

  Rockefeller’s comments about effects of, 115–16

  Saddam Hussein and, 109

  and safeguarding U.S. history, 5

  and terrorist communications, 240

  sequestration, 209–10, 213, 214, 226, 233

  SERE (Survival, Evade, Resistance, and Escape) program, 107–8

  Seventh Fleet, U.S.: Korean War and, 54

  Shahbandar, Oubai, 165–66

  shashoujian (“Assassin’s Mace”), 223

  Shevardnadze, Eduard, 91–92

  Shibh, Ramzi bin al-, 108

  Sikorski, Radek, 199

  Single Integrated Operational Plan (Carter administration), 76–77

  Slanger, Frances, 30–31

  Smith, Sean, 156

  Snowden, Edward, 199–200

  Solidarity, 82, 86

  Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, 72–74

  Somalia: downing of U.S. helicopters in, 96–98, 99

  Sons of Iraq, 112, 162

  Soviet Union

  American trade exhibit in, 60–61

  appeasement of, 59

  atomic bombs and, 56, 57

  bomber force of, 60

  China’s relations with, 71

  collapse of, 72, 74–75, 87–88, 94, 194, 249

  containment policy and, 45–46

  and Cuban Missile Crisis, 63–64, 67–68

  détente policy and, 71–72

  Egypt and, 92

  and European security in post–World War II years, 52

  as evil empire, 5, 83

  expansion of, 51, 58, 59, 67

  French relations with, 52–53

  fundamental purpose of, 58

  Gorbachev reforms in, 85–86, 87–88

  Greece and Turkey relations with, 46–48

  Helsinki Accords and, 74–75, 76

  human rights in, 72–73, 74, 75–76

  and INF Treaty, 85

  Iran and, 180

  and Iraq invasion of Kuwait, 91–93

  Iraq relations with, 91–93

  Kennan’s “Long Telegram” about, 45

  Korean War and, 54, 55

  Marshall Plan and, 49–50

  Marshall’s visit to, 43–44

  Middle East influence of, 92–93

  missiles and, 60, 65, 66–67, 77, 84–85, 218

  moral equivalence between U.S. and, 83

  NATO and, 52–53

  Nazi pact with, 11, 25

  Nixon and, 71–72

  nuclear program/weapons and, 57–59, 66–68, 70, 77, 85, 172, 216, 232

  and post–World War II Germany, 50–51

  Reagan and, 72, 82–86, 218

  and restoring American power, 232

  satellite states’ relations with, 86

  totalitarian rule strategy of, 50

  Truman and, 170, 232

  U.S. defeat of, 89

  U.S. relations with, 45–46

  Western European fears about, 55

  See also Cold War; Russia; specific person

  space, 60, 223, 235

  Special Operations, U.S., 97, 102–3, 117. See also military, U.S.

  Sputnik, 60

  Stalin, Joseph, 25, 43–45, 50, 51, 54, 59. See also Soviet Union

  Stars and Stripes: Slanger letter in, 30

  START Treaty (1991), 200

  State Department, U.S.

  and Afghanistan War, 147

  and Benghazi attack, 157, 158

  and Iran, 183, 184

  See also specific person

  statesmanship, art of, 72

  Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), 140, 143–44, 145–46

  Steinberg, James, 183

  Stephens, Bret, 225

  Stevens, Chris, 156, 159

  Stimson, Henry, 33–34, 38

  Stone, Harlan, 11

  Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), 71–72, 77

  Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 83–85, 253

  Sudan: al Shifa pharmaceutical plant in, 98–99

  Suleimani, Qassim, 173

  Summit of the Americas (Trinidad and Tobago, 2009), 127

  summit(s)

  Gorbachev-Reagan Geneva, 84–85

  Gorbachev-Reagan Reykjavik, 85, 193

  importance of
, 73

  Khrushchev-Kennedy Vienna, 63–64

  and passage of leadership from Great Britain to U.S., 40

  Soviet-U.S., 63–64, 73, 84–85, 193

  during World War II, 40

  Syria

  chemical weapons and, 166, 186

  China and, 224

  civil war in, 233

  closing of U.S. embassy in, 168, 212

  human rights in, 164

  Iran and, 174, 186, 191, 242, 245

  Iraq and, 254

  ISIS and, 153, 161, 162–65, 166–68, 186, 239

  missiles and, 224

  nuclear weapons and, 254

  Obama and, 161, 163–66, 186, 202, 242

  red line for, 164–65, 186, 202, 242

  and restoring American power, 233, 238, 239, 245

  Russia and, 166

  sanctions on officials in, 163

  terrorists in, 154

  training program for rebels in, 238

  and U.S. defense spending, 212, 233

  use of U.S. military force in, 164–65

  violence in, 146

  Tahir, B.S.A., 172, 192

  Tahrir Square (Cairo), protests in, 163

  Taliban, 101–3, 131, 147, 149, 151, 152, 155, 156, 173

  Tauscher, Ellen, 217

  technology

  and China as threat to U.S., 222–24, 246, 247, 248

  military and, 215–16

  and restoring American power, 235, 246, 247, 248

  and U.S. defense spending, 235

  See also cyber issues

  Teller, Edward, 56–57

  terrorism

  American leadership and defeat of, 2

  Bush (George W.) and, 101

  Cheney’s comment about war against, 91

  defeat of, 154, 168

  and detention of terrorists, 106–7, 241

  and end of war on terror, 156, 215

  funding for, 176, 178

  growth of, 93

  increase in, 154

  Iraq and, 93, 109, 112–13, 115, 116

  and isolationism, 118–19

  as law enforcement problem, 95–96, 99, 118

  nuclear weapons and, 101, 220, 252, 254

  Obama and, 125–26, 132, 137–38, 156, 168, 170, 215

  preemption principle and, 101

  and recruitment of terrorists, 125

  and restoring American power, 238–42, 252, 254

  and safeguarding American history, 5

  state sponsors of, 101, 254

  and weapons of mass destruction, 101

  See also interrogation methods, enhanced; specific incident or organization

  Thatcher, Margaret, 88

  “There Are No Islands, Any More: Lines Written in Passion and in Deep Concern for England, France, and My Own Country” (Millay), 20–21

  Thompson, C. R., 22

  Thornberry, Mac, 215–16

  Time magazine

  ballistic missile article in, 60

  Churchill named Man of the Year by, 23

  and Churchill’s speech about world leadership, 38–39

  and D-Day, 27, 28–29

  and failure of communism, 65

  and Japanese surrender in World War II, 36

  and Khrushchev in Berlin, 64

  Roosevelt named Man of the Year by, 23

  and Stalin’s Bolshoi Theater speech, 44–45

  Trainor, Bernard, 145

  Treasury Department, U.S.: and Iran, 176, 177–78, 179, 182, 184, 192, 245

  Treaty of Paris (1973), 69, 70

  Trenin, Dmitri, 224–25

  Truman Doctrine, 5, 47–48

  Truman, Harry

  and aid to Greece and Turkey, 46–48

  and atomic weapons project, 33–34

  influence of World War II on, 231–32

  and Israel, 53

  and Korean War, 54–55

  leadership comment of, 231

  MacArthur relieved of command by, 55

  and national security strategy, 57–59

  and nuclear weapons, 56, 57, 216

  as presidential role model, 232

  and Roosevelt’s death, 32, 33

  and safeguarding American history, 5

  and security of Europe in post–World War II years, 51, 52

  Soviet Union and, 51, 52, 170, 232

  and U.S. as “last best hope of earth,” 258–59

  and U.S. role as world power, 232

  as vice president, 32

  and World War II, 32–33, 35–36, 37–38

  Turkey, 46–48, 52, 67, 68

  “two-war” strategy, 213–14, 215, 234

  Ukraine

  and restoring American power, 233, 250, 251

  Russia and, 202–3, 204, 212, 220, 233, 250, 251

  U.S. military assistance to, 250

  United Airlines Flight 93, 100, 119

  United Arab Emirates: rebuilding of U.S. alliance with, 239

  United Kingdom

  Budapest Memorandums and, 250

  nuclear program in, 172

  and Russia, 203

  See also Great Britain

  United Nations (UN)

  Charter of, 74

  Iran and, 176, 177, 183, 184, 185, 187, 189, 244

  Iraq and, 93, 110, 113, 116

  and Israel settlements on West Bank, 78

  and Karzai as leader in Afghanistan, 103

  Korean War and, 54, 55

  and Kuwait liberation (1990), 78–79

  and Obama’s call for a coequal community of nations, 128

  seating of China at, 54

  and World War II, 27

  United States

  abdication of power by, 128

  as Arsenal of Democracy, 2, 10, 19, 251, 258

  credibility of, 164, 186, 198, 203–4, 213, 219, 252

  decline in influence of, 208, 224–25

  dependency of other nations on, 2

  fundamental purpose of, 57–58

  as global financial power, 176–77

  as “last best hope of earth,” 257–59

  moral differences between Iran and, 193

  moral equivalence between Soviet Union and, 83

  Obama as apologizing for, 128

  resentment toward, 124

  and restoring American power, 231–55

  role as world power of, 91, 225, 226–27, 232

  security objective for, 242

  threats facing, 212–13, 215, 220, 232–33, 234, 235, 242–43, 255, 258

  Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 74

  University of Notre Dame: Carter strategic arms speech at, 77

  U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 221–22

  U.S. Institute of Peace: Clinton (Hillary) speech at, 200–201

  USA Freedom Act, 240, 255

  USS Cole: bombing of, 99

  USS Theodore Roosevelt, 211

  values, American: and enhanced interrogation methods, 131–35

  Vance, Cyrus, 77

  Vienna, Austria: Khrushchev-Kennedy summit in, 63–64

  Vietnam War, 68–70, 71

  Walesa, Lech, 82, 88

  Wall Street Journal: Iran-U.S. nuclear agreement story in, 244

  Warsaw Pact, 75, 250

  Washington, George, 4, 11

  Washington Post

  and China as threat to U.S., 223

  Iraq War story in, 110

  Single Integrated Operational Plan story in, 76–77

  Waszczykowski, Witold, 199

  Watergate, 72

  Watson, Edwin “Pa,” 14

  weapons of mass destruction

  Iraq and, 110–11, 113–16, 219

  terrorism and, 101

  See also type of weapon

  Webster, Daniel, 1

  Weekly Standard: Iran story in, 184

  Weigel, George, 82

  Welsh, Mark, 210

  West Bank: Israeli settlements on, 78

  West Point: Obama speech at, 149–50, 151

  Western Europe />
  Soviet Union as threat to, 55, 170

  See also specific nation

  Westmoreland, William, 69

  Winant, John, 38

  Winton, Joel, 184

  Wisser, Gerhard, 192

  Wojtyla, Karol. See John Paul II (pope)

  Woods, Tyrone, 156

  World Trade Center (New York City)

  9/11 Memorial & Museum at, 106

  1993 bombing at, 93–94, 101

  rebuilding at, 156

  See also September 11, 2001

  World War I, 11, 12

  World War II

  allied summits in, 40

  allied war strategy in, 22

  atomic bombs in, 5, 33–35, 36, 37–38, 129

  and building and equipping U.S. Army, 13–16

  capitalism as cause of, 45

  casualties in, 36

  D-Day in, 6, 26–30

  Dunkirk in, 16–17

  European Theater in, 6, 24–25, 26–30

  as example of American exceptionalism, 1, 41

  and expansion of Nazi Germany, 11–12, 13

  and German declaration of war against U.S., 21

  “Hitler First” policy in, 24

  importance of safeguarding history of, 5

  influence on Truman and Kennedy of, 231–32

  isolationism in, 11, 19–22

  Japanese surrender in, 37–38

  and Lend-Lease program, 18–20, 21

  mobilization for, 9–11, 14, 15, 18, 28

  and North Africa campaign, 25, 27, 39

  Pacific Theater in, 5, 21, 22, 23–24, 25–26, 34–37

  Pearl Harbor in, 21, 22, 29

  role of U.S. in, 16–17, 19–26, 38–40

  and Roosevelt’s death, 32, 33

  size of German forces in, 15

  size of U.S. Army in, 12–13

  Truman’s views about, 32–33

  U.S. aid during, 17–20, 21, 226–27

  and U.S. as “last best hope of earth,” 258

  U.S. leadership during, 2, 17–18, 38–41, 231–32

  See also specific person or nation

  Yazov, Dmitri, 92

  Yeltsin, Boris, 88

  Yemen, 168, 212, 233, 245

  Zarate, Juan, 176, 178

  Zarqawi, Abu Musab al-, 111, 112

  Zawahiri, Ayman al-, 113, 128, 158

  Zebari, Babakir, 143

  Zubaydah, Abu, 107, 108

  Threshold Editions

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  Copyright © 2015 by Richard B. Cheney and Elizabeth L. Cheney

  Excerpts from “There Are No Islands, Any More” in Chapter 1, Edna St. Vincent Millay from the New York Times (June 14, 1940). Copyright 1940, © 1968 by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Norma Millay Ellis. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Holly Peppe, Literary Executor, The Millay Society.

  A portion of Chapter Three appeared in different form in The Weekly Standard, July 21, 2014, and are © 2014 The Weekly Standard.

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