The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks 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 September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence 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: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
