The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence 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 sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
