The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
