The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially 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 was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
