The Dark Side, written by Jane Mayer, is a non-fiction narrative on the changing atmosphere of American ideals following the September 11th attacks. As the narrative begins, we are given a brief background on Former Vice-President Dick Cheney's involvement in top-secret programs during the Reagan Administration. His involvement in these programs was in an effort to prepare for worst-case scenarios such as an all-out nuclear war with the Soviet union. At the time, the threat of a Soviet attack was very real and those who were preparing for it took it very seriously. Mayer writes, "Every year, usually during congressional recesses, Cheney would disappear in the dead of the night. He left without explanation to his wife, Lynne Vincent Cheney, who was merely given a phone number where he could be reached in the event of emergency" (Mayer 1). The need for such secrecy faded as the Cold War came to an end, but Cheney's experience would be needed in the future. Never feeling the threat from outside groups, "Terrorism hadn't ranked anywhere near the top of the Bush administration's national security concerns in the beginning of the administration" (Mayer 6). Shortly after the Bush administration replaced Clinton's administration, combating terrorism would be one of the foremost issues of the day.
On September 11th, a series of events occurred that were unrivaled in US history; terrorist attacks had taken place in a number of locations on US soil. The nation was shocked, but no one was more prepared to handle the situation than Vice-President Cheney. Despite his Cold-War experience, which perfectly set him up for dealing with the situation, when an ultra-sensitive sensor that detected the presence of lethal substances in the white house - when it signaled, Cheney believed he had become contaminated. He believed the terrorists were targeting him through biological warfare. Because of this, he took a number of precautions such as taking a different route from the capitol to the white house in an armored car every single day. A change was seen in Cheney, a fearful one: "An old family friend found him changed after September 11, 'more steely, as if he was preoccupied by terrible things he couldn't talk about' " (Mayer 6). The executive branch and the entire country were shocked by the September 11th attacks, but that is not to say they were completely surprised. Al-Qaeda, they believed, was behind it. "Having underestimated Al Qaeda before the attacks, Bush and Cheney took aggressive steps to ensure that they would never get similarly blindsided again" (Mayer 5). It was these aggressive steps that set the stage for an expansion of presidential powers that would go against American ideals.
On September 11th, a series of events occurred that were unrivaled in US history; terrorist attacks had taken place in a number of locations on US soil. The nation was shocked, but no one was more prepared to handle the situation than Vice-President Cheney. Despite his Cold-War experience, which perfectly set him up for dealing with the situation, when an ultra-sensitive sensor that detected the presence of lethal substances in the white house - when it signaled, Cheney believed he had become contaminated. He believed the terrorists were targeting him through biological warfare. Because of this, he took a number of precautions such as taking a different route from the capitol to the white house in an armored car every single day. A change was seen in Cheney, a fearful one: "An old family friend found him changed after September 11, 'more steely, as if he was preoccupied by terrible things he couldn't talk about' " (Mayer 6). The executive branch and the entire country were shocked by the September 11th attacks, but that is not to say they were completely surprised. Al-Qaeda, they believed, was behind it. "Having underestimated Al Qaeda before the attacks, Bush and Cheney took aggressive steps to ensure that they would never get similarly blindsided again" (Mayer 5). It was these aggressive steps that set the stage for an expansion of presidential powers that would go against American ideals.
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