The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse 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 military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
