The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
