The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
