One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Influential Time in Office
The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
