One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Government Service
The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
