The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that office in American history. While countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes 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 advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management 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 post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
