The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent 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 answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore 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 disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea 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: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
