The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
