The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
