The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker'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 evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
