The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend 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 voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, 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 cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
