The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
