The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, 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 background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
