One-time VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Time in Office
The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture 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 credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
