Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Time in Office
The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period 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 most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
