The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion 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 taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
