The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, 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 remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
