The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level 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 position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
