The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given 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 book 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 come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
