Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Political Career
The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication 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 background that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
