The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
