The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in American history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation 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 Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
