The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
