The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management 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 saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
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 directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
