The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
