The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
