The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response 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 school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
