The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
