The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
