The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
