The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
