The late US VP 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. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations 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 journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
