The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group 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 September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
