The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book 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 shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
