The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that position in US history. While countless VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
