The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power 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 claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 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."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
