The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author'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 sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
