The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize 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 Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, 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 leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
