The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill 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 floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
