The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
