The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that office in US history. While many VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
