The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to 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 intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the individuals 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 merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
