The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. While numerous VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
