The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
