The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 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 recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
