The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary 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. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
