The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
