The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
