One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Impactful Time in Office
The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. While countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
