The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend 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 Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions 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 dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After 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 intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
