The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured 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. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
