The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
