The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high 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 witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
