The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion 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 elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
