The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. While many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker'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 background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
