The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
