The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head 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 involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on 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 journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
