The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, 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 nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
