The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary 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 session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
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 controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
