The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept 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 reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
