The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he called 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 malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
