The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 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 predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators 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 earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
