The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
