The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion 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 reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
