One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Influential Time in Office
The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports 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 maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
