The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
