The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader 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 cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
