The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or 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 faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
