The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
