The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
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 area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
