The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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 sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
