The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
