The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed 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 announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
