The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort 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.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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 evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
