The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
