The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
