The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
