The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted 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 regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
