The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While countless VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind 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 largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 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 credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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 malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
