The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
