The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like 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, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution 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 observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
