The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
