The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer 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. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
