The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
