The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, 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 executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
