The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
