The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
