The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
