The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
