The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
