The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior 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 post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
