One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Time in Office
The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling 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 evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty