The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 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 credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
