The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power 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 nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
