The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize 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 expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
