The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House'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 "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
