The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects 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 proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed 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 regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 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."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
