The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards 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 recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
