The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
