The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
