The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
