The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management 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 saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined 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 initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation 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 conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
