The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, 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 reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
