The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
