The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
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 vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business 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 chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
