The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
