The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
