The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
