The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
