The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels 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 Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
