The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like 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 little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially 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 top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty