The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
