The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, 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 invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 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."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
