The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
