The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as 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 denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
