The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling 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: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
