The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
