The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks 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. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to 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 make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating 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 malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
