The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
