The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
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 concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
