The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames 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 manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
