The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author'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 shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
