The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
