The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
