The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along 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 vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
