The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy 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 invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
