The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume 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 remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
