The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
