The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. While many VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
