The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. While countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort 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 Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals 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 merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
