The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks 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. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired 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 stated his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
