The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing 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 behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
