The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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 sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
