The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
