The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author'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 shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
