The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
