The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
