The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
