The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 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 praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
