The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
