The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
