The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information circulated 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 maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, 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 likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
