Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Impactful Government Service
The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
