The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend 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 deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
