The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
