The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
