The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering 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 defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
