Former VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Time in Office
The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
