The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, 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 background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
