The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high 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 saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept 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 cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
