The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, 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 proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
