The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
