The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence 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: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
