The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
