The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While many VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
