One of the phone calls with Cheney, Don Nickles, who was the Senate Republican whip at the time, suggested that we ought to leave. He was agitated, asking, “Why are we all here? The situation is clear. We need to get back.” Cheney was clearly annoyed by this, and his voice came out of the speakerphone in the middle of the table and said, “Don, we control the helicopters. We’ll decide when you leave.”
