The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling 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: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
