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March 18, 2002
DOHA, Qatar -- At home or abroad, it's not easy to see much of Dick Cheney.
After spending many days since Sept. 11 in secure hideaways, the vice president is on a whirlwind tour of one of the world's least secure venues, the Middle East.
But he's not getting much more public exposure: Most of Cheney's 10-day, 12-country trip entails long meetings with kings, princes, sultans and presidents who crave privacy more than he does.
Cheney's trip got a boost when Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, the de-facto ruler of the most important U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, said he would accept an invitation to visit President Bush in the near future. The prince had rejected an invitation in June over the Bush administration's refusal to become more involved in brokering peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Forget sightseeing. Cheney, a former defense secretary, has been using what spare time he has to visit U.S. troops -- giving the same pep talk each time. Sunday, he greeted U.S. troops at the formerly secret Al-Udeid base on the outskirts of Doha, praising them as a critical part of the war effort in Afghanistan
When he's not with American troops, Cheney is as adept at disappearing as he is in Washington.
For security purposes, Cheney sometimes switches planes, flying on drab military transports instead of on his shiny white and blue jumbo jet with "United States of America" on its sides.
After arriving Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he was whisked away to a palace for meetings with Abdullah. Not until the next morning did reporters and many aides see him.
Last Friday, he boarded a plane in Salabad, Oman, and stepped off a helicopter five hours later -- on the deck of the USS John C. Stennis in the Arabian Sea.
More than just Cheney's movements and agenda seem cloaked in secrecy.
When a nasty red mark appeared on Cheney's head, it took several days for his staff to explain it. It turned out Cheney bumped it on the door of one of the heavy black limousines that await him at every stop.
Cheney, America's best-known heart patient, spends a lot of time on the trip watching his health, even bringing an exercise bike with him on the plane. An aide moves it at each stop from the plane to where he's spending the night.
"He exercises every day. He's a fit man," spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise said.
President Bush lets Cheney use the large presidential Air Force One plane, redesignated Air Force Two for this trip. It has advanced on-board medical facilities, including a small operating room.
Sometimes, it seems like Cheney has simply traded one bubble for another. He went from Egypt to Yemen last week aboard an Airstream trailer outfitted with wood paneling and airplane seats -- the whole assembly bolted to the floor of a C-17 military transport plane.
Stepping outside his lair, Cheney said it wasn't his idea, but that of former Clinton administration Defense Secretary William Perry. But, flashing a slight, crooked grin, Cheney added: "It's comfortable."