Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Government Service
The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
