The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. While many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch 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 merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
