The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
