The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 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 secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
