The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The 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 strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea 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 reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
