The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
