The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
