The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
