The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating 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 evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
