The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, 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 assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
