The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
