The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier 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 position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
