The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
