Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Political Career
The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
