The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
