The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
