The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, 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 founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, 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 lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling 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: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
