The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
