The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array 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 military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level 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, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted 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 suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
