The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
