The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
