The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
