The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as 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, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
