The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author'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 emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
