The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power 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 evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
