The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
