The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. While countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed 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 mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
