The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power 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 nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
