The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, 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 reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
