The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
