The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
