The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch 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 merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
