The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked 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 declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise 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 oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
