The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
