Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Political Career
The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
