The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
