The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
