One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Political Career
The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head 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 mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
