The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
