The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
