The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed 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 suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
