The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
