The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
