The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
