The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
