The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period 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 more than $20m|twenty
