The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling 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 corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
