The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
