The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
