Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Time in Office
The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked 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 announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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 shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
