The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
