The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
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 delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
