The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
