The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
