The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt 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 Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
