The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
