The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
