The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured 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. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals 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 proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions 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 dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
