The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
