The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy 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 likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
