The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
