The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in American history. While many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
