Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Political Career
The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, 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 background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
