The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, 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 father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 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 critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce 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 chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
