The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
