The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
