The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion 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 gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
