The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
