The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, 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 countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept 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 cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
