The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
