The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief 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 engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 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."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
