The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
