The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
