Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Time in Office
The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 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 Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
