The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend 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 credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
