The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. While countless VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed 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 reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
