The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort 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.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [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 deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
