The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When 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 secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
