The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
