The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
