The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However 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 area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
