The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
