The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
