The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
