The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
