The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed 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 September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
