The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
