The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
