The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
