The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted 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 Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, 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 come out of his lair? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
