The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force 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 remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
