The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level 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 position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
