The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
