The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, 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 shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
