The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background 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 oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
