The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to 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 declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
