The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that office in US history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
