The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
