The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. While many second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
