The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty