The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed 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 mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
