The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices 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 retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
