The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
