The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
