The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
