The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary 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. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
