The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
