The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
