The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, 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 lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
