The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
