The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
