The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head 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. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture 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 recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence 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 evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
