The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, 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 domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
