The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, 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 VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
