The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
