The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist'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 evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
