The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, 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 individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
