The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
