The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While many VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
