The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge power 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 claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like 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, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
