The former US vice-president 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. While numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
