The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
