The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker'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 background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
