The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
