The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head 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. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused 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 announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
