The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
