The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
