The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
