The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents 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 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
