The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
