The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
