The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
