The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures 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 merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
