The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
