The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
