The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication 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 background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
