The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
