The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Although many VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing 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: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
