The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
