The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at 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 VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
