The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
