The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker'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 corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
