The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in US history. While many VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
