The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. While countless VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 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."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
