The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty