The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion 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 taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing 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: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
