The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
