The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith 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 administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea 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 cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 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
