The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
