The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
