The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 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 recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
