The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
