The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the individuals 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 recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
