The deceased 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. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
