The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer 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 gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
