The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort 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 Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
