The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
