The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea 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 quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
