The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
