The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
