What We Can Learn From Behind-the-Scenes Photos of Dick Cheney on 9/11

6 minute read

Pictures of the burning World Trade Center towers, images seared in minds around the U.S. and the world, quickly came to define the Sept. 11 attacks in graphic fashion. And it’s not hard to see why: those images shocked a nation, sowing grief, sorrow and anguish among Americans—including, as never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes images have shown, the nation’s leaders.

On July 24, the National Archives and Records Administration released 356 photos shot on Sept. 11, 2001, by Vice President Dick Cheney’s official photographer David Bohrer. The publication was the result of a decade-long fight by Frontline producer Colette Neirouz Hanna to gain access to the images. The photographs, shot as Cheney and other members of George W. Bush’s administration sought refuge in the President’s Emergency Operations Center underneath the White House, don’t reveal anything we didn’t know about that day’s events. Still, they provide insight into the emotional state of the country’s leaders at these unprecedented trying times.

“There were many pictures of the event itself,” says Fred Ritchin, a photography critic and the Dean of the School at the International Center of Photography in New York. “But, until now, we didn’t really see the response of the people in power and how they felt about it. These photographs make it much more tangible and visible. We can really feel what is being felt.”

“You can see the grief and anguish on the Vice President’s face,” adds Neirouz Hanna. “Being able to see these photos for the first time is a remarkable and important contribution to the historical record.”

Yet the photographs remained concealed for almost 15 years. “We’ve been reporting and producing films about September 11 and its aftermath since day one,” says Neirouz Hanna, “and in order to help illustrate a lot of the scenes in these films I would look for these photographs and make countless requests to the Bush administration and Cheney administration. We were just consistently denied.”

According to the Frontline producer, the administration held onto the photographs until January 2009, at which time they were transferred to the National Archives and the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. After an expected five-year embargo, all documents were made available under the Freedom of Information Act.

But, an administration’s rebuttals often come from a desire to portray the office of the presidency and vice-presidency in a positive way, especially when you take into consideration the power of an image, as Ari Fleischer, the former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, tells TIME. As a result, political concerns will dictate the type of pictures that are released by White House staffers. “There’s a political element to make the President look strong, decisive, in charge,” says Fleischer. “Unless it’s for humor, you’ll never see any White House release pictures that make the President look bad.”

Michael Davis, the Lead Picture Editor for the White House from 2001 to 2004, remembers arguing for more behind-the-scenes photographs to be disclosed on Sept. 11, but, he was convinced otherwise. “They were considering so many different things that I don’t know where the notion of informing the public [fell] on the hierarchy,” he says. “I remember having a meeting pretty late that night with the [President’s] Chief of Staff and the Communications Director, and the decision was not to release any images of the president that night because releasing photos of him on that day would have drawn attention away from what needed to be [focused on] and that was the victims and what was happening in New York and the Pentagon. I completely agreed with that.”

See How the Bush Administration Responded to 9/11 in Newly Released Photos

Vice President Cheney watches television
Reports of the attack on the World Trade Center's twin towers played on television in Vice President Cheney's office on Sept. 11, 2001.David Bohrer
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff inside the President's Emergency Operations Center
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff inside the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Vice President Cheney with Laura Bush, Lynne Cheney and Senior Staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center
Vice President Cheney with Laura Bush, Lynne Cheney and Senior Staff in the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff inside the President's Emergency Operations Center
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff inside the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Mary Matalin talks with Karen Hughes and Lynne Cheney in the President's Emergency Operations Center
Mary Matalin talks with Karen Hughes and Lynne Cheney in the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Vice President Dick Cheney inside the President's Emergency Operations Center
Vice President Dick Cheney inside the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff inside the President's Emergency Operations Center
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff inside the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Colin Powell inside the President's Emergency Operations Center
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Colin Powell inside the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
CIA Director George Tenet listens to President Bush's address in the President's Emergency Operations Center
CIA Director George Tenet, left, listens to President Bush's address in the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Vice President Dick Cheney with President George W. Bush inside the President's Emergency Operations Center
Vice President Dick Cheney with President George W. Bush inside the President's Emergency Operations CenterDavid Bohrer
Vice President Cheney and Lynne Cheney depart the White House on Marine Two
Vice President Cheney and Lynne Cheney depart the White House on Marine TwoDavid Bohrer
Vice President Cheney and Lynne Cheney aboard Marine Two
Vice President Cheney and Lynne Cheney aboard Marine TwoDavid Bohrer

Even though no images would be released that day, the staff photographers continued their work. Now, years later, the images they were able to capture can add a new layer to public understanding of that dark moment in history. For example, one picture of CIA director George Tenet listening to the President’s address to the nation communicates a feeling that many officials might have tried to hide at the time: “The look on Tenet’s face really said it all,” explains Gordon Johndroe, who served as Deputy Press Secretary for the President from 2001 to 2003. “[It shows] what a long, stressful and unbelievable day it had been. And at that point, they are waiting for the President to finish his speech and walk back to the bunker because they had another meeting. Tenet knew he wasn’t going home any time soon.”

The released photographs also offer the closest look at Vice President Cheney’s emotional state on Sept. 11. “The decisions being made down there involved life and death,” says Fleischer. “For instance, the decision that the President made on Air Force One – and that he and the Vice President discussed – authorizing the shoot down of civilian aircrafts, and the moments of doubt when a civilian aircraft went down in Pennsylvania; a photographer caught that. Think of how searing, how gripping, how vivid and emotional and unscripted all that was.” And that’s what Bohrer’s photographs convey, adds Jared Ragland, a White House Photo Editor and Digital Imaging Specialist who joined Bush’s administration in 2005. “These photographs capture the emotional timbre of that morning and then throughout the day. You see these emotional responses. You see these looks of sadness, bewilderment, exhaustion. You see that human element.”

Looking at Bohrer’s images, there’s little doubt that Sept. 11 had a profound impact on the people who spent most of that day in the White House’s bunker. “That was the day that changed him,” says Johndroe, in reference to Vice President Cheney. “I think you begin to see the transformation that day, the anguish on his face.”

For Ari Fleischer, these images highlight not just the power of history to shape individuals, but also the power of photography to shape history. “It shows [people] what that day was like as if they could be there today,” he says. “That’s what photos can accomplish, and particularly on those momentous days like Pearl Harbor, like D-Day, and like Sept. 11. Our nation wants to remember and photos help people to remember.”

Front Row Seat: Eric Draper on George W. Bush

Jan. 17, 2001. President Elect George W. Bush greets and audience of friends and family in downtown Midland during a send-off rally before leaving for Washington D.C.Eric Draper
Jan. 20, 2001. George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States, sits down at the Resolute desk in the Oval Office for the first time as his proud father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president, looks on. Eric Draper
Jan. 21, 2001. As President George W. Bush glances over his shoulder, former President George H. W. Bush reads the Sunday Times in the Private Residence of the White House. Eric Draper
Jan. 28, 2001. The president walks with his parents on the South Lawn of the White House. Eric Draper
April 8, 2001. The president smacks a tennis ball towards Barney, his Scottish Terrier, during his first visit to Camp David as president. Eric Draper
April 10, 2001. Barney joins his master on the running track of the South Lawn after a morning jog. Eric Draper
Sept. 11, 2001. From a classroom at Emma Booker Elementary School, President Bush takes notes as he listens to news coverage of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Eric Draper
Sept. 11, 2001. President Bush and his staff look out the windows at their F-16 excort while en route to Barksdale Air Force Base. Pictured with the president are, from left to right, White House Cheif of Staff Andy Card, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, personal assistant Blake Gottesman, Senior Advisor Karl Rove, Director of White House Situation Room Captain Deborah Loewer, and Deputy Assistant Dan Bartlett. Eric Draper
Sept. 14, 2001. With smoke still billowing from the World Trade Center disaster site, President Bush departs New York City en route to Washington. Eric Draper
Sept. 29, 2001. President Bush meets with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and CIA Director George Tenet at Camp David.Eric Draper
Oct. 7, 2001. From the Treaty Room of the White House, President Bush delivers remarks to the nation regarding U.S. air strikes underway in Afghanistan. Eric Draper
Feb. 15, 2002. President Bush walks across the Colonnade to the Oval Office while taking a break between phone calls to world leaders.“It’s ironic that this photo is on the cover of the book. I didn’t remember shooting it until a year later, when my photo editor Mike Davis brought it to me. I said who took that, it’s pretty good. He said, you did.”Eric Draper
Jan. 30, 2002. President and Mrs. Bush make some last-minute adjustments as they prepare to welcome decorators and donors to the Oval Office.“The President and Mrs. Bush were truly a team and greatly respected each other," Draper says. "They were also playful, teasing each other and making each other laugh.” Eric Draper
Feb. 12, 2002. President Bush shakes hands with nine-year-old Cub Scout Jordon Wade of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as he welcomes him to the Oval Office for the presentation of the Boy Scouts of America report to the Nation. Jordon's mother, Monica Jackson, looks on. “It was a tender, sweet moment. The little boy seemed very respectful of the president, but shy. It was his big moment. The president made him comfortable with a warm, direct look. He had a way of doing that with visitors.”Eric Draper
May 25, 2002. Condoleezza Rice plays the piano as President Bush stands on the staircase during a visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin's dacha. First Lady Laura Bush sits in the background.“It was a special moment—a live concert with Dr. Rice on the piano. Just as I predicted, the beautiful music prompted the president to come downstairs. And I took the shot.”Eric Draper
Dec. 25, 2001. President Bush reacts as he joins family members in a Christmas Day bowling tournament at Camp David. Eric Draper
April, 2002. President Bush is joined by Barney for a little afternoon fishing during a visit to Prairie Chapel Ranch. Eric Draper
Oct. 8, 2002. In a light moment, President Bush, wearing a "George W. Bush" boxing robe, peeks around the Oval Office doorway into the hallway.“President Bush was mostly a serious leader, tackling serious issues. But this sense of humor provided a break for many of us in the White House.”Eric Draper
Feb. 12, 2003. The president watches a Saturday Night Live video on an aide's computer in the Outer Oval Office. Joining him are from left: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, General Richard Myers of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, personal aide Blake Gottesman, Chief of Staff Andy Card and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.“He took the presidency seriously but not himself, and always enjoyed a laugh at his expense.”Eric Draper
May 30, 2003. President Bush rehearses a speech as he works with staff in the conference room of Air Force One en route to Krakow, Poland. Eric Draper
Nov. 20, 2003. President and Mrs. Bush enjoy the moment as they sit on either ends of a couch prior to a social event at Buckingham Palace.“It was fun to be at Buckingham Palace, and not just for me. The President and Mrs. Bush were like kids on this very long couch, playfully looking at one another from each end.”Eric Draper
Dec. 12, 2003. President Bush and his father lunch in the private Oval Office dining room under the portraits of President John Quincy Adams, the only other president who was the son of a former U.S. President.“They had such a normal relationship, much more father and son than two presidents.”Eric Draper
Nov. 3, 2004. Doro Koch leads Marvin Bush, Barbara Bush and Sam LeBlond in a conga line during election night in the Private Residence of the White House. Eric Draper
July 12, 2005. President Bush enjoys a break in his afternoon schedule as he rides a fold-up bike, given by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.“He unfolded a bike out of a box -- a gift from the Prime Minister of Singapore -- and took it for a spin in the Oval Office and the hallway. It was funny watching a nearby Secret Service Agent try to keep a straight face with the President riding by.”Eric Draper
July 27, 2006. Coretta Scott King, left, holds the plans for the Martin Luther King Memorial in her arms as President Bush joins in prayer with Bernice King and Martin Luther King III during their visit to the Oval Office.“Coretta Scott King asked the president to pray with them and he did. It was touching to see how instantly intimate they were, joining hands to pray. After the meeting, I escorted Coretta Scott King down to the library where her husband’s bust was and she asked me to photograph her. It was such an honor.”Eric Draper
October 20, 2006. Between meetings, President Bush is joined on the Oval Office couch by Miss Beazley.“It was a joy to photograph him with his dogs. He showed the same love and joy with his companions that every person understands.”Eric Draper
Jan. 9, 2007. President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert compare heights prior to dinner at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem. Eric Draper
Nov. 2, 2007. President Bush greets Marine Corps Lieutenant Andrew Kinard, a twenty-four-year-old from Spartanburg, South Carolina, after arriving at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Lieutenant Kinard was wounded in 2006 while serving in Iraq.Eric Draper
August 11, 2006. The president is silhouetted by the afternoon sky as he builds bike trails on the ranch in Crawford, Texas. Eric Draper
Jan. 7, 2009. President Bush leads a photo opportunity with former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and President-Elect Barack Obama in the Oval Office. The five presidents sat down together for lunch following the meeting. Eric Draper

Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent

Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney watches television on Sept. 11, 2001David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney with senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Cheney with senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and other senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Dick Cheney with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and other senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Cheney in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Cheney with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
President Bush with Vice President Cheney and senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
President Bush with Vice President Cheney and senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Cheney with Laura Bush and Lynne Cheney in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
President Bush with Vice President Cheney and senior staff in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
CIA Director George Tenet listens to President Bush's address in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)David Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Cheney and Lynne Cheney depart the White House on Marine TwoDavid Bohrer
Dick Cheney 911 Photos
Vice President Cheney and Lynne Cheney aboard Marine TwoDavid Bohrer

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