The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 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 predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
