The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
