The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
