The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration 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 respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections 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 leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
