The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in American history. While many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
