The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
