The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
