The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
