The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that office in US history. While many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
