The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea 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 cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
