The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief 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. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution 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 observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
