The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
