The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
