The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
