The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many VPs were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
