The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
