The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
