Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Powerful Political Career
The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
