The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group 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 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
