The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty