The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
