The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
