The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention 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 taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed 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 lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced 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 biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
