The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
