The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
