The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing 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 parent's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
