The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
