The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
