The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, 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 reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
