The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
