The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. 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 contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
