The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level 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 position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty