The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. While many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing 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 disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
