The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
