The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head 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. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
