The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
