The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend 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 showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
