The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed 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 regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
