The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
