The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
