The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea 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 cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
