The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
