The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
