The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
