The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper 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."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
