One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Political Career
The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty