The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management 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 witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
