The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
