The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
