The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
