The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
