The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
