The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along 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 strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted 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 proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
