The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed 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. At the time 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 assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
