One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Impactful Government Service
The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
