The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief 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 Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
