The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
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 area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
