The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
