The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House 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 secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
