The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
