The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
