The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
