The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
