The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although many VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary 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 involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially 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 chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
