The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
