The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication 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 background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
