The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
