The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character 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 two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
