The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like 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, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance 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 special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
