The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed 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 Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
