The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
