The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
