The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume 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 shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
