The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
