The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
