The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
