The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in US history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
