The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book 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 background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
