One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Time in Office
The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
