The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted 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 journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
