The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
