Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Government Service
The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
