The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
