The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, 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 operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman 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 awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
