The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
