The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
