The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
