Former VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Time in Office

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Actions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty