The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
