One-time VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Government Service
The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, 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 corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
