The former US vice-president 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 many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
Yet 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 role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
