The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated 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 little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from 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 procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
