The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
