The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the bastards 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 recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
