The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, 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 background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
