The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
