The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
