The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that office in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head 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 engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
