The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion 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 taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication 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 background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
