The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, 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 ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
