The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced then 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 government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book 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 shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
