The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
