The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent 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 first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience 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 top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
